The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective
by GhostAnn
Summary: If there was one thing Hattori Heiji was sure of it was that Kudo Shinichi was not a killer. So, when Heiji found his eastern counterpart curled up asleep in the brush, shivering and covered in blood and mud, he was a bit more than shocked. Edogawa Conan thought his life was complicated enough with the whole reliving his childhood. This was so much worse.
1. Prolog

_Authors Notes:_

 _Wow! This isn't a Danny Phantom story or crossover! Amazing!  
*cough cough*_

 _Just so you know I am a huge fan of werwolf's and I've been wanting to write a werewolf story for ages but none of the other fandoms I follow gave me the set up I wanted. DC is the first time I was truly inspired and not just with a "Wouldn't it be fun/interesting" but a serious "I could really play with the characters and their worldview." And if you can't break a few minds what's the point._ lol  
(plus Kudo/Conan's situation adds an extra fun element)

 _I hope you enjoy this silly ride. It's probably not the weirdest thing I've ever written… but… it's up there…_

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Prolog

It was the night of a Kid heist and, as was customary for the thief, a full moon. Edagawa Conan found himself running through a small almost forest just outside the museum where the heist had taken place. His short little legs were really slowing him down in the thick brush. Still, the child-sized detective could see the annoying capers white glider peeking through the canopy. He just knew he was being played with and it was so irritating. The thief had already pissed him off. The jerk had disguised himself as Kudo Shinichi, _again_ , and... then there was Ran... and- and! He wouldn't forgive him for it! "Damn you Kid!" He yelled with all the force he could manage with the little body he was trapped in.

He swore as his footing was lost in a sudden patch of slick mud and he found himself eating forest floor.

In a tall tree not to far away Kaitou Kid folded his wings and snickered as his monocle glittered in the moonlight. He'd already checked the stolen jewel and surprise, surprise, it wasn't his target. So, while he watched his little detective struggle in the forest he contemplated on how to hand the loot over to the sleuth. What method of delivery would garner the biggest rise out of the too serious shrunken boy, he wondered.

Maybe he could simply plop it on his head. Simple but the look on his little critic's face would be hilarious. Or he could have him chase a dummy for about 20 minutes or so and leave a creative and friendly note with the jewel. It was an old stunt but it had pleasing results. The downside was he wouldn't get to see the reaction but he was sure the detective would appreciate all his hard work. Or-!

His thoughts halted as Conan's cussing cut out abruptly. Knowing it was highly possible he'd been spotted he ducked down peaking through leaves to see his pursuer looking in a completely different direction from him. Conan's face was warped with a look of shock.

Conan gaped as what looked like a wolf stepped through the brush but it was larger than any wolf he'd ever heard of. Taller than most grown men. It was slim with silver fur and golden eyes, it looked down at him with a cold intelligent gleaming gaze, some emotion dancing in its eyes that he couldn't name.

He took a step back nervously. The calm expression on the beast shifted as it began to growl.

Before Kid could even wonder what Conan was looking at the boy suddenly jumped to the side dodging something large and furry.

The first thing out of Kids mouth was explicative as he found himself dropping down to the ground his cape fluttering behind him. Mud and mulch splashed up onto his white trousers but he paid it no mined rushing forward pulling his card gun out just as he heard a cry of pain. Bursting through a bush the marauder opened fire on the beast as soon as it was in view.

Conan dodged the wolf's first lunge but it swiftly spun around and took hold of his right arm. Conan cried out in pain as he was shaken back and forth. Suddenly he was flying through the air and he felt his body smack into a tree. Rolling he gasped as it felt like fire and ice were battling in his veins. He saw a flash of white as Kaitou Kid was suddenly there shooting cards at the beast. Conan's vision faded out as his ears began to ring and he fought for consciousness.

The cards followed their mark perfectly and Kid watched as the monstrous wolf that seemed to be made of moonlight busted apart into incandescent orbs. The blazing sphears spun around the small clearing seaming to create their own wind before shooting up into the sky and vanishing.

The notorious thief stared after them in shock for a beat before he remembered the small boy bleeding nearby.

"Hey! Mr. Jr. Detective!" Kid wasted no time in racing to the small form sprawled on the ground.

Gently he rolled Conan onto his back, checking for injuries. He kept his card gun up just in case even though something told him that whatever that was wasn't coming back. It was clear that the little Sherlock Holmes was bleeding and Kids attention was brought to a small arm twisted and bent in a gruesome manner.

"Shit. I know you'll hate it but it looks like Kudos saving you tonight twerp."

The only response he got was a weak groan.

Conan's vision waned in and out as a strait-faced Kitou Kid was replaced with a worried looking Kudo Shinichi. "Hold on Conan. Big bro's gotcha."

"You..." Whatever he was going to say was lost to his unconsciousness.

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

 _Here's to hoping that the shifts in points of view weren't too confusing or jarring. I have faith that you guys are more than smart enough to follow it though.  
I wanted to do something a bit different… the wolf here is actually a result of some world building from an original story idea I was putting together a long time ago… I never really finished it (due to lack of a solid setting...). So it's nice to see after all that research and creation she finally got to make an appearance even if it's a small and ambiguous one…_

 _I've got this story fully planned out and mostly written (kinda stuck on the murder mystery side stories… I'm not super experienced with those…) so I'll be posting once a week…_

 _As for those of you waiting for my other stories... I am working on them! I promise! I plan on posting a chapter for The Outer Ring, and one for Keeping Promises soon.  
I'm currently doing research for Ghostly Clues but I hope to have something posted for that soon too.  
But if I don't work on what inspires me... then what's the point of writing?_

 _(801 words this chapter. Originally posted 12/22/2017.)_


	2. Chapter One

_Authors Notes:  
First of all, thank you for taking the time to look at my story and continuing to the first chapter! I have it planned that this story will update every Thursday, but I figured technically I haven't posted the first chapter yet… and it's practically Christmas anyway!  
Second, I have not studied the Japanese language… I don't know how to use the -san or -nee-chan or what the other honorifics mean or how to use them properly… so as you may have noticed I'm not going to use them… sorry. I will be trying to show the terms of endearment or respect to the best of my ability but in an English way… it'll be like a sad dub trying too hard to be relatable to English speakers… only… not... because it was never in Japanese, to begin with… ;-_-  
_ _Third, I am not going to be doing much in the way of the Osaka style of speaking form Hattori and Toyama and the like. It'd be as if Kudo were trying to write this story or something if I did… We're all better off with me just doing some small things here and there mostly 'ya's" replacing "you's" "ta" replacing "to" and a few dropped g's at the end of "ing" words…_

 _Oh, and I forgot to mention, this is my first Detective Conan story… so if things are off… sorry, let me know and I'll do better._

 _Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter One

 **One month later…**

If there was one thing Hattori Heiji was sure of it was that Kudo Shinichi was not a killer. He wasn't naive. He knew everyone was capable and Kudo probably even more so than most. If he wanted to, Kudo would be the one man Heiji could see actually getting away with it. The thing was, though, Kudo valued life above all else. He mourned its loss even when the life taken was that of a cold-blooded killer. No. If Kudo were pushed to kill, for whatever reason, he would not hide it. He would probably even cuff himself, the moron.

So, when Heiji found his eastern counterpart curled up asleep in the brush, shivering and covered in blood and mud, he was a bit more than shocked. Especially since it was Kudo as his true teen self and not his child-self "Conan" that he had found.

It was the first sign of the high school detective that Heiji had seen in thirteen hours. When Conan had run off the day before (he still wasn't sure why) he, Mss Mouri, and Kazuha had looked tirelessly all night for the boy. Conan had not really been himself for days… or no… weeks now (not since he'd been bitten by that wild bear) and his disappearance hadn't sat well with any of them. Hell, it was largely because of his odd behavior that they'd come to this small mountain village to begin with!

Heiji shook his head with a frown and knelt onto one knee to check on his friend. Bloody mud, it seemed, was all Kudo was wearing as his breaths came in sharp gasps as if he were in pain. Maybe Kudo was somehow attacked and some of the blood was his own… but there was an awful lot of it.

Kudo's cool blue eye's opened slowly and seemed to go in and out of focus. "H-Hattori…?" A raspy voice greeted him. "Wh-what…why- where?" Blue eyes flitted back and forth taking in his surroundings like lightning. It was a matter of seconds before he was sitting up examining his arms/his legs/his body, as his eyes slowly widened at the sight of all the blood. "What is all this?"

Heiji felt his frown deepen. "Was hopin' ya could fill me in on that. Look's like ya rolled around a murder scene."

Kudo's wide eyes shot to him. Slowly, he shook his head looking deeper into the forest. "No…" Kudo swallowed hard and Heiji glanced in the same direction before settling his focus back on the other. Kudo just said. "It's not human…"

Heiji squatted, evening out the strain on his legs, as he slipped off his green jacket and placed it over Kudo's shoulders. "So… what is it then?" He locked his serious green eyes with the uncharacteristically shaky blue of the teen before him.

Kudo's face was growing paler by the second. "I don't… I don't know. I don't-" Kudo shook his head and went to bury his face in his hands only to freeze again at the sight of blood.

Heiji was trying to sort out the reactions he was seeing in his equal. Kudo was clearly in shock. His body was trembling- but that could have been from the chill of the early morning. His answers were unusually unobservant and vague.

Then there was the whole not being a child aspect going on. Heiji knew there were bigger things to worry about but couldn't stop himself from asking. "How are ya big anyhow? Did ya take a pill? Ya haven't been sick far as I noticed."

Kudo shook his head his eyes distant. "No… no… no…" He pulled the jacket tighter around himself his pail fingers digging into the fabric. "N… no."

Hesitant to agitate Kudo more Heiji asked softly. "Should… should I call the police?" He wasn't sure what was going on yet and if Kudo turned back into a kid while they were being questioned it would be bad… he also didn't want to get the police involved with his friend if he could help it. There were too many things that could go wrong. Namely unsavory people getting wind of Kudo being alive.

The detective of the West was not surprised when Kudo shook his head. "No. Un…" Kudo's head fell as he gripped the jacket tighter his fist trembling with the force. "I don't think I'll be Kudo for long a-anyway." He hissed as pain filled his face. His body stiffened and his eyes were wide as his mouth parted in a silent cry.

"Oi! Kudo!" Heiji knew what was happening but it still had him on edge. They were not that far into the forest and the sun had been high enough for a while that a flashlight wasn't even necessary. He could clearly see the pain on his friends face. "We need to get ya somewhere safe. Hold on." He moved to help Kudo to his feet and the teen gasped as his blood boiled.

"Ah… It hurts."

"I know…" Heiji said uselessly. He really didn't but he'd seen it enough times to understand that it did. Kudo was not the type to complain, yet, he was never able to hide when he was changing.

"Always like this." Kudo gasped. "Feels like…m- milting."

"Just… just hold on okay. Oi, Kudo, ya hear me?" The Osakan detective let out a curse as Kudo's legs gave out and his breath hitched. He could feel the heat from the teen as his body's molecular structure shifted.

Suddenly, Kudo was screaming and Heiji was terrified, as he held his friend, feeling him shrink in his arms. This was the closest he'd ever been when the shift happened. He'd heard it more than once but he'd never actually seen it let alone felt it happening.

Just as quickly as it occurred it was over and Heiji was holding a small child about six or seven in size under his jacket. Standing Heiji bundled Kudo into the sports jacket and cradled the smaller teen in his arms as he fought back his own trembling emotions. All that could be seen of Kudo was a tuft of sticky dark, almost black, brown hair peeking through the top of the jacket. Silently glad for the heavier material Heiji took a deep breath and began to make their way back to their hotel. His long legs would make relatively short work of it. After a few steps, his nerves began to leave him. Heiji glanced down at his much smaller counterpart letting out a tired sigh. "Damn, Kudo…"

There was a weak chuckle from the balled-up jacket in his arms and a tired breath. "Sorry... Hattori..."

Shaking his head Heiji just trekked on. "What- what should we tell the others?" Kudo asked nervously.

"The truth, hopefully." Heiji mumbled.

"I wasn't planning on lying... outright, anyway." Kudo mumbled back and Heiji rolled his eyes to that. "It's just... Ran will freak if she sees all this blood... I just want to kinda give fair warning, I guess. So... any ideas?"

Heiji grimaced and grunted. "They're not at the hotel right now... we can clean ya up a bit before they see ya... but I think we're just gonna have ta deal with them freakin' out a little Kudo... I found ya in a bush for heaven's sake. And ya still haven't given me a straight answer as to why yet either." He glared at the bit of hair he could see feeling Kudo squirm a bit.

The mini detective let out a tired sigh. "It's not just that I don't want to tell you Hattori... it's... foggy. Like... I can remember bits and pieces... but I don't- I can't grasp... every time I try and think about it... it slips away... I- I..." Kudo fell silent. There was a lot to that jumbled mess of words. Kudo was clearly hesitating for some reason. Still convinced the other might have been hurt somehow Heiji went to ask if he was okay only to be interrupted as Kudo continued. "I don't know if I'm even human anymore..."

"Hu?! Course ya are! What else would ya be?"

Kudo was silent for a long time and Heiji could feel little fingers balling through the jacket into his shirt. The hotel came into view and they were in the lobby before Kudo whispered a response to the question he had nearly forgotten he had asked. "A monster."

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_  
 _Hattori is one of my favorite characters from Detective Conan (which surprises me because I usually don't like_ mirror- _like characters). For this reason, there is a good amount of the story in his POV but… I honestly feel like I write him poorly… but I won't get it right if I don't write it! Er… anyway..._  
 _*awkwardly side steps away*_

 _(words used 1423. Original date chapter posted 12/23/2017.)_


	3. Chapter Two

_Authors Notes:  
To your question Neyane, It's not fleshed out, and I wasn't planning on doing full-on flashbacks of the time right after the attack to present time. Rather just leave impressions of what happened from what the characters say and such… but since it's something you're interested in I'll see about writing more on it, but considering how I've got the story written so far it may be a while. We'll see…  
Like I said before the story's all planned out, I just need to flesh it out. Get characters to act like themselves in some scenes and hope their actions don't change too much later on…_

 _Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Two

Heiji had dutifully sent a text to the girls letting them know he'd found Kudo as he shut the door to their room. He then made a beeline to the bathroom. Kudo- no Conan, he needed to start thinking of the boy by this name with the girls on their way- was barely responsive as he was sat in the tub. He hesitated for a moment wondering if he should say anything. Shaking his head Heiji grabbed the shower head pulling it down from its hook and turned it on adjusting the temperature away from his friend.

"Wait..." Ku-Conan croaked as Heiji began running the water through his hair. "P-pictures... shouldn't we...?"

"I'm not taking pictures of ya naked and covered in blood Kudo." Heiji snapped immensely irritated with the very notion. Detective protocol be damned. "Don't worry... the jacket'll be enough evidence... I'll even get it checked after we getcha cleaned up... okay?"

The child-sized teen stared blankly at the stained jacket discarded on the floor before stiffly nodding.

Gently, Heiji lathered soap in the boy's hair. "Kudo…?" Heiji hesitated, the lack of protest or embarrassment on Kudo's - Conan's (damn it!)- part had the larger teen even more worried. He was really bad at this comforting junk. It was a struggle finding something to say that might snap Conan out of his depressive state.

Conan blinked then looked at Heiji blankly for a moment before another blink brought focus back to his eyes. After studying the darker skinned teen for a moment the boy gave a weak smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "What is it big brother Heiji?" He asked in a slightly pitched voice.

Fighting the urge to brain Kudo for pulling the cutesy kid card- even if it was half-hearted- Heiji took a calming breath… and sprayed the boy in the face instead. Kudo sputtered and Heiji took a small washcloth handing it to him. "That's creepy as is, don't do it with yer face covered in blood!"

Slowly Conan wiped his face down his eyes drawn. "Sorry…"

"It's okay…" Heiji said, Kudo's face making him feel a little like he'd just whipped a puppy. This wasn't good, he was making things worse (and he was thinking of him as Kudo again). Conan was alway's so strong-willed. He'd walked through hundreds of murders… so it was surprising to see him so shaken over just blood.

The difference he guessed was that it was on him and neither of them had an answer as to why. Or at least not an answer they were willing to admit to. Heiji frowned remembering the little detectives whispered words. "Hey, Conan, what did ya mean, earlier, when ya called yer self a monster?" Heiji busied himself as he waited for an answer rinsing the soap out of Conan's hair scrubbing down his back. He was silently proud of himself for remembering to address his friend by his alias. The feeling was brief though as he studied Conan. The boy had looked away at the question and squirmed uncomfortably. Grabbing the bar of soap Conan rolled and mashed it between his wet hands creating brownish pink bubbles as he did so. "There has to be another explanation. Hattori, I need to just… reevaluate the facts…Its… just that as the evidence stands right now… It suggests that last night I..."

"Conan!" Both detectives looked up as the panicked cry of Mouri Ran reached them. "Conan?" She was in the bathroom just seconds later her dark blue eyes going wide at the sight of him. "Oh my god! Conan! Are you okay? Is that blood? Are you hurt?"

She was next to him in a second as Toyama Kazuha looked in with curious green eye's from the door.

"R-Ran." Conan was rapidly turning red while still doing what he could to calm his childhood friend. "I'm okay. It's...it's not human blood. It's not - I'm okay. I promise." With that Conan gave a clearly forced smile. It fell almost instantly as Ran started to help scrub the blood from his limbs.

Heiji blinked when the child-teen said, "it's not human." He'd said something similar when he first woke up. He had to wonder if it was a fact, or if Kudo was making a desperate plea. Hoping with all his might that he hadn't somehow killed someone in what the Osaka detective was thinking might be memory loss.

"I don't understand- what happened last night?" Mouri asked in worry. "Why did you run off in the first place!?"

"I've asked him about what happened." Heiji said running the water through Conan's hair again. Conan looked down into the rapidly clearing water as they spoke. "He doesn't seem to remember."

"What?"

"It's all messed up... in my head. " The voice that left his small friend was the most vulnerable Heiji had ever heard from him. "I didn't know why but I had to go... in my gut... I knew-" Ku-Conan's voice choked to a stop and he took in a shuttering breath. "I didn't want- if I stayed... you would have been hurt."

"What? Why?" Ran sounded worried but also a bit offended by the boy's words.

Heiji stiffened. He wondered if Kudo's behavior was linked to the Black Organization somehow. Everyone jumped at Kudo's response. "I DON'T KNOW!" He yelled gripping his hair as he curled up into a ball. "I just felt it instinctually! I was- All day I kept seeing things that weren't there. I was running and chasing and-

"Shhh." Mouri said softly wrapping a towel around Conan and pulling him into a hug as she rocked back and forth her cocoa colored hair falling forward and curtaining over the small false boy. "Shhh. It's okay. You don't have to explain. Just... let it out."

Heiji watched wide-eyed as Kudo gripped Ran's shirt and trembled. He wasn't bawling but he was deliberately hiding his face. It was clear he was trying his damnedest not to cry. Heiji looked at his jacket determination falling over his face. Grabbing the blood-soaked garment he headed for the door. "Oy! Heiji where are ya goin'?" Kazuha called after him.

"Ta look in ta some things stay here with Mss. Mouri and take care of Kudo."

"Wait, Heiji!"

As the door slammed behind him Heiji allowed a small cringe to pass over his face. He just couldn't think of Kudo as Conan... especially not when he so clearly needed help. And he was going to help too, the detective way.

* * *

Authors Notes:  
This whole chapter is a bit… odd

sorry

(words used 1096. Original date chapter posted 12/29/2017.)


	4. Chapter Three

_Authors Notes:  
Surprise! I decided to post a New Year's Chapter!  
So here's my first attempt at a flashback… I tried to make it as seamless as possible… it happened sooner than I thought it would…_

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Three

 **After the attack…**

The first thing Conan noticed when he came to was the noise. The consistent sound of air conditioning dancing under the rhythmically incessant beeping noises that sounded nearby and far off. Muffled voices were everywhere and the sound of rushing wheel's and feet rose and fell with varying levels of urgency. He heard breathing soft but noisy in his ear fighting against the sound of his own slow breaths. His head hurt, his chest felt heavy, and his limbs were numb.

Forcing his eye's open he blinked back the painfully bright white light that invaded his retinas. "Conan?"

He flinched at the volume of the voice next to him his eyes finally adjusting enough for him to make out the blurred form of his best friend. "Ran…?" He knew he was whispering but even his own voice pounded into his head. Closing his eyes for a second he took a steadying breath.

"You're in the hospital." Ran whispered loudly.

He went to rub his temple with his hand only to find his arm trapped in a hard cast, unable to bend it or straighten it. A dull sharp pain registered with the movement. He groaned using his other hand instead. "What… happened?"

"From what Shinichi said you were attacked by a wild bear."

Ice filled his vain's at the name. "Shini…chi?" His brain was kicking into high gear trying to remember what the hell happened.

"Yeah, he said he ran into you trying to catch Kaitou Kid. Don't you remember? He wanted to stay and see you when you woke but you know him, the moment he heard you were stable, he had to go back to his case."

Images flashed through his head from the night of the heist. Kudo- Kaitou Kid dressed as Kudo- kissing Ran's hand right before he revealed himself. "Kid…" Conan felt white hot anger shoot through him. The bastard kept using his face!

The look of anger he couldn't quite hold back had Ran concerned. "Are you feeling okay? The doctor's said your arm was broken, torn, and fractured… I guess you're pretty lucky to still have it… though it might not ever work properly again." The last part was said so softly that it actually felt like a whisper to Conan. He cringed as she asked suddenly. "Are you in pain? Should I call a nurse?"

"Ah!" Conan shook his head frowning. "No- I just have a headache… probably from the morphine…"

There was a sharp intake of breath and Conan looked to see a perplexed look on Ran's face. He stared stupidly at her for a breath and a half before he realized that no seven-year-old would say something like that. "Ah- ta- ta!" He stumbled to fix his flub. Laughing slightly. "That's what that one character from tv said after waking up in a hospital!"

A frown fell on Ran's face as she studied him but she seemed to shrug it off quickly enough. "You're not in pain though?"

Conan shook his head sitting up. "No. I'm good." He forced a smile.

"Okay…" Ran said her eyes shifting from the call button to the door. "I think I should still let them know you're awake…"

Conan nodded still smiling. "Maybe some water too?"

"Right. I'll get you something to drink and grab a nurse." Ran stood and as she left the room Conan felt his face fall immediately.

Anger directed at himself rolled in his gut. It wasn't like he was hiding in plain sight for no reason. Ran was the one person who couldn't know he was really the shrunken Kudo Shinichi. If she found out she'd want to help- she'd get into danger… she'd hate him… whatever the cost, he just couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Conan found himself fighting back angry, confused tears.

It hadn't hurt this bad to lie to Ran since he left her at that fancy restaurant after he failed to confess. Not that it didn't alway's hurt… it just became a dull ache. It didn't feel that way at the moment. It was sharp, deep and jagged and he hated it.

Everything he hated about himself seemed to be rolling to the forefront of his mind all of a sudden. How stupid it was to leave Ran behind to chase after that stranger in black at Tropical Land. How dumb it was to have forgotten the man had a partner. Being forced to take a drug that was supposed to kill him but shrunk him instead. Fearing every day that it might be discovered that Kudo didn't actually die. That Shinichi was, in fact, running around as the seven-year-old Edogawa Conan. Shame that his arrogance nearly got him killed. Anger that his current shrunken state left him virtually helpless.

He glared down at the cast around his arm. Now he had Ran worried because he'd let his guard down- because no one gets hurt at Kid's heist. He was lucky it wasn't a member of the organization and just a strange wild animal… Conan shivered at the memory of the beast's golden eyes.

He found himself looking around wearily as if he'd see the creature lurking in the corner. Only to jump when the door opened. "Oh, you're awake!"

A nurse with long dark hair smiled sweetly at him as she pushed in a lunch cart. Her voice was soft and melodic."I was just bringing you your lunch. I'm so glad you've woken up."

"Thank you." Conan said but felt the hair on his arm's raise as the nurse came closer. He felt a rumble in his throat as his eyes narrowed. "Who-" Somehow he knew right away who it was. "Kid!?"

The nurse had stopped at the growling noise Conan didn't realize he was making, their face going blank. "I'm just checking on my favorite little detective." The thief's unaltered voice said with the young nurses look. "An acquaintance of mine told me… after hearing about what happened, that I should check on you."

"Acquaintance?" Conan deadpanned.

"Not important. I was just wondering… do you feel any different?" Kid asked switching back to the nurse voice.

Conan gave the thief an uninterested look. "No."

"Not even a little? Like touchy or-

"NO!" Conan growled. "What is this about?"

Kid hesitated. "My… contact… has informed me that we may have encountered something a little… strange."

Conan snorted. "Of course. Wolves in Japan went extinct century's ago. To run into one in the wild would suggest that one escaped from a zoo or smugglers…"

"If only…" Kaitou Kid mumbled looking at her watch. "What do you know of werewolves?"

Conan glared at the disguised criminal. "They're fictional creatures."

"Hum…" Kid gave Conan a weak smile. "Well, maybe not so much?"

After a staring contest that began to feel a touch uncomfortable Conan laughed. "Very funny! I knew you were a trickster but to pull something like this!"

"Hey…" Kid said slowly.

"Don't you have better things to do than mess with me?" Conan asked feeling the anger in him grow. "I'm not in the best of mood's right now- what with nearly losing my arm and all." Narrowing his eyes Conan spoke accusatively. "I'd think pranking someone injured like this would be beneath you."

"Of course I have better things to do." The nurse smiled then shook her head heaving a loaded sigh. "I knew you wouldn't listen to me, but I had to try…" With a shrug, Kid walked to the door. "I guess this is goodbye… for now."

"Be ready, Kid, I'll catch you next heist." Conan shot back.

The smile that the nurse sent his way was sad. "I don't think you will." Was all Kid said as the door snapped shut.

* * *

Conan was still steaming as he was wheeled out of the hospital by Mouri Kogoro. He glanced at Ran who, walking beside them, gave him a gentle smile. "I can walk." He groused looking away. He'd been irritable and snappy ever since he'd woken up. A part of him knew that he was overreacting but he just couldn't help himself and Kid's visit didn't help matters. _'So annoying. I'm just going to forget that encounter ever happened.'_ Conan decided silently.

"It's hospital policy. Just relax and enjoy the ride you brat." Kogoro said back just as irritated as he pushed the boy.

He glared at the man only to flinch at the sound of the doors sliding open. All at once the noise and smell of the city hit him. As if those doors had been holding it all back. "Ah…"

"Conan?"

It was overwhelming. Conan wasn't aware that he'd curled up until he felt soft hands on his back. Squinting up he was met with Ran's blue eyes. As he studied her worried features the overwhelming sound seemed to fade away. "Are you okay?"

He stared at her as warmth filled his face. "It… just got really loud all of the sudden…" Conan said slowly. "And I think I smell pee." His nose scrunched up in disgust.

Kogoro leaned on the chair since they were stopped. "Well, there are a lot of bums in the area maybe you're smelling one of them." He laughed his painfully loud laugh he did when he thought he was being clever.

"Dad!" Ran reprimanded helping Conan out of the chair as it slid away from the older man. "Let's just go home."

The daughter and father bickered lightly as they made it to the taxi waiting for them. Conan watched Ran as they walked hand and hand. She made the world around him calmer and he just couldn't understand how. He also wasn't sure he wanted to know how. It was one mystery he could live without solving.

Taking a deep breath he tried to take hold of the calm she'd created for him as he settled in the back seat of the taxi between the two Mouri's and tried to relax or at least block everything out. It was harder than he felt it should be. Irritation was bubbling in his stomach and he felt himself twitching every time a loud noise cut through his mental block.

It startled him when Kogoro opened the taxi door. He hadn't even realized they'd stopped. He felt like he was still sitting in a moving vehicle. He felt as if his soul and body were not aligned… and that was a frighteningly dark thought. Numbly he allowed Ran to guide him by his hand. "Do you want something to eat?" She asked sweetly.

Shaking his head Conan found himself leaning into her side. "Hey… Ran can I just go lay down?"

"Of course." Ran gave him a gentle smile and he forced a small grin back and headed up the stairs.

Ran watched him go as an uneasy feeling settled in her.

* * *

Nearly a month later Ran felt a similar unease as she helped a barely responsive Conan get dressed. "When Heiji came home after visiting ya he said that something was wrong with Conan…" Kazuha said slowly. "I thought he was just being like an overprotective big brother… but… yesterday and today…" She trailed off as she helped Ran bundle the boy up in blankets and they settled together on the bed. "It's clear somethings wrong."

"I'm okay…" Conan mumbled.

Ran frowned. "Don't lie Conan."

The boy flinched at her tone. "I… I'm okay." He said again weaker this time.

Ran sighed suddenly very serious. "I wish you would just talk to me. You and Shinichi both… you're alway's trying to do everything on your own."

Conan looked too Ran a look of pain on his face. "Ran…"

He placed a hand over the hand she had resting on her leg. She pulled it away quickly wiping her eyes. "How about some breakfast?"

Kazuha blinked. "Are ya okay Ran?"

"Yeah. " Ran nodded then looked down at the child who was now glaring out the window. "How does that sound to you, Conan?"

"G-good." Conan stuttered looking down giving a tentative half glance in her direction.

"Hey, Conan, where are your glasses?" Ran asked suddenly noticing their absence.

Reaching up to touch his face as he turned away from her. Conan swallowed. "Lost them…"

"Ah… well, maybe we can find them… or get you a new pair…"

"Hey~," Conan said in the cutesy voice he used sometimes. Giving the window a quick look before turning his gaze to Kazuha. "Where's big brother Heiji gone?"

"He said he had ta look into something." Toyama said biting back her irritation. "He's probably trying ta piece together what happened ta ya last night. Stupid mystery junky. Can't he wait till ya at least feel better?"

"Mm." Conan nodded looking down. "I'd like to help..."

"That's not exactly what I meant..." Kazuha sighed giving Ran an exasperated look.

Ran returned a soft smile. "It's his way of showing he cares." She ruffled her charge 's hair, concern entering her eyes when he didn't respond to the teasing gesture.

"Sure, sure." Kazuha said crossing her arms.

Taking in a deep breath, to calm her self, Ran smiled. "How about we order some room service first. Then we can discuss the mystery. Okay?"

Conan nodded slowly looking back to the window his gaze slightly sad and maybe even a touch worried. _'Maybe it's best for me to stay out of the actual investigation... especially since... I don't know if I want Heiji to figure this one out or not.'_ Shivering Conan leaned into Ran's side. His eyes slid closed as her fingers slowly pulled through his hair. Warm contentment filled him despite his misgivings. No, he decided it was best to just let Heiji do his thing. If he figured it out, well, then they could go crazy together. If not… Conan figured he'd have to find out alone just how broken he really was.

* * *

 _Authors Notes:  
I'll admit here and now… one of the reasons I hadn't planned on writing the month prior to Conan/Kudo's first transformation is because I'm not comfortable writing that deeply from his point of view. I don't feel I understand him on that level and in my mind he isn't super in tune with his emotions.  
This make's it hard because the main thing that's effected prior to the change is emotion. As the month drags on he'll become more aware of it, but it's slow… Also, as much as I like introspection that's not what I want this story to be about… so I may throw in a few more flashbacks… but I can't promise they'll be from Conan's point of view. (I kind of think more would be revealed from Ran's point of view…)  
I was pleasantly surprised though to find the flashback allowing me to throw in some information I can now cut from later chapters… but it also ad's things to play off of in the future as well… I wasn't planning on Kid showing up too much but that may have just changed… this may complicate things actually… man, I was hoping to keep this story relatively short… (I just can't write a short story to save my life)_

 _Anyway, thank you a million thousand times for reading my story! You don't know what it means to me._

 _I hope 2018 turns out to be a wonderful year for you all!_

(Words used 2,328. Original date chapter posted 12/31/2017.)


	5. Chapter Four

_Authors notes:  
In response to the guest reviewer D0A: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you find it interesting, and yeah I noticed that too… I've alway's liked writing platonic story's… I mean if people want to read this story and imagine things as being more romantic than they can- but it's not intended to be that way… I just really like the brotherly relationship between Hattori and Kudo.  
As for Kid… well… we'll see. *wink*  
*clears throat*  
As for everyone in the audience! It's a shorter chapter today…  
sorry_

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Four

Heiji took gulping breaths as he stood in the spot where he'd found Kudo. His jacket was in a grocery bag and he'd deal with it later. First, he had to look for clues at the scene before it was overly disturbed. Which is why he'd run back.

Turning his hat so the brim faced forward Heiji traced Kudo's print's back into the brush. Finding Kudo's footprints was easy and the evidence of blood was overwhelming. He followed the blood droplets and smears on leaves and bark as he lost sight of the ground. Then the print's were back, wobbling. Kudo had obviously been disoriented.

It wasn't but a few meters before he found the prints leading to a mess of blood, mud and guts as Heiji came across a mutilated deer. Its stomach was torn open and its intestines half pulled out.

In the blood around the body there were claw marks mixed in with what looked like hand and footprints. Long smears in the ground suggested something slipping and sliding around.

Well, that explained the blood. Carefully stepping around the scene Heiji was beginning to work out what was what. Kudo must have tripped into the carcass and, disoriented, scrambled and rolled as he tried to get up. To the side of the body he noted a good amount of spit and blood.

Cringing Hattori moved on. if he had to guess Kudo must have gotten some of the animal in his mouth when he fell. Strange though, the dear was clearly attacked by a large predator but had hardly been touched otherwise. Heiji wondered if Kudo had scared away the killing animal. He frowned.

That didn't make much sense. If Kudo had interrupted something like a bear eating… would it really have run off without fighting for its meal? Kudo had no signs of injury though. Even his arm was missing the small surgical stitches from his last visit to the hospital a week ago. Last he saw Kudo only had the scar's from the attack that happened about a month ago. He didn't see any signs of the medical thread in the dirt. He must have lost them earlier- maybe when he returned to his teenaged form.

With that thought, Heiji refocused and tried to find out where Kudo had come from before this point but his footprints didn't go back any farther. It was almost as if he'd fallen from the sky right onto the dead dear. Considering his luck Heiji didn't put it past the modern Holmes.

Another oddity though… the strange beast's paw print's also seemed to end here. Heiji stared at the evidence in front of him… his mind racing. Maybe whatever dropped Kudo here picked up the animal… The detective violently shook his head.

Where were his thoughts going? He took a moment to laugh at himself. Alien abduction was not where his brain needed to be right now. Still… he looked up to the treetops. How did Kudo end up here? It was possible he dropped out of a helicopter… or was jumping trees… none of that made sense. First of all, there would be little reason for Kudo to jump trees… though he'd done it before. Second, no one would just drop him here for no reason. Plus why take the animal?

Scratching his head in agitation Heiji nocked his hat askew. Frustrated he straightened it and let out a sigh, maybe he needed to come at it from the other direction. If he could figure out where Conan went then he could figure out how Kudo ended up here.

With little else to follow Heiji decided to backtrack the animal prints. He tried to figure out what it was, based on what little knowledge of prints he had, but sometimes they seemed like a large dog's paws and sometimes more like bear paws. He just wasn't well versed in animal tracks.

After tracking further into the woods to the point where tracking was impossible Heiji let out a sigh. He'd hoped he'd maybe find a den or something to help him cure his curiosity as to exactly what killed the deer but it was nearing lunch now and he'd wasted enough time. He frowned down at the bag in his hand and shrugged. Might as well get it checked. He doubted there'd be anything other than animal blood on it. Now that he knew where Kudo had stumbled from. Still, the mystery as to what exactly happened to the Detective of the East before his roll with the deer still remained.

* * *

 _Authors notes:  
Thank you for reading.  
Even though this is a short chapter it's one of my favorites so far… even if the first paragraph is a bit awkward… and I can't tell if my depiction of Heiji is okay or not… Still writing this has been really fun.  
And… the next chapter will be longer… I'm sure._

(Words used 763. Original date posted 01/04/2018)


	6. Chapter Five

_Authors notes:  
I can't stand looking at this chapter anymore so I'm just gonna post it.  
Well… if you liked the last chapter then maybe you'll like this one too.  
I feel there's a little bit of out of character moments, especially for Kudo… but considering the circumstances that's hard to avoid… plus I don't know how to write him, to begin with so… T-T  
_

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Five

It wasn't a secret that this venture into the mountain city had been Hattori's idea. Something about getting away from the city to "help Conan relax." Conan had doubted it at first thinking it had been some sort of trick to pull him into a mystery, but low and behold Heiji had legitimately just been worried about him.

From what Ran said he and Kazuha had won tickets to a mountain resort and both insisted it was perfect timing since there was a break from school happening. Just like the first time Hattori called him just to chat Shinichi was genuinely surprised.

The day they got here though Conan had been skittish and moody. It had been okay on the train, he'd just been a bit whiny then, but as the day grew longer Conan began to see shadows. He became snappy and paranoid, convinced they were being followed. Before anyone knew it he'd run off. Hattori was still- if not more- worried about him now. In fact, he'd spent a good part of the afternoon after lunch badgering Conan into taking him to where he'd first entered the forest. Reluctantly Conan gave in.

He kept dragging his feet though. Asking Hattori random unrelated questions. Like if he knew what the small mountain village's gross income from tourism was- or if he'd noticed the bike shop just across the street and begging that they stop and look at them. He'd even insisted on stopping for a late afternoon snack. He was still extremely hesitant to actually get involved.

"What are we doing here Hattori?" Conan grumbled rubbing his tired eyes trying to act uninterested. The sun had sunk low but was still just over the mountains. The shrunken teen stood in flip-flops on the edge of the forest with the other detective. He'd lost his tennis shoes the night before along with a few other items. He figured if nothing else they could retrieve them.

"We're goin' to retrace yer steps after ya disappeared last night." Hattori said. "Oh, and the blood ya rolled in was just deer. Not a trace of human in it."

Conan grunted trying not to show how relieved that made him feel. "I told you it wasn't human."

"But ya weren't sure."

"No, I just wasn't sure what it was! Idiot!" Conan growled. Taking a huffing breath trying to calm the sudden flash of frustration and embarrassment. "It could have just as easily been a boar or a goat…"

Heiji gave Kudo a side glance after that little rant but his friend wasn't paying any attention to him as he fought back another yawn. He was acting like he didn't care but Heiji could tell something was off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

It was almost like Kudo didn't want to help. Heiji couldn't for the life of him figure out why though.

Still, the little detective had been about as moody as a mule for the last couple of weeks so it was possibly just a continuation of that. With that in mind, the Osaka detective decided to just let it drop. "Okay… so ya say ya entered the woods here?" Heiji flicked on his flashlight illuminating the sign for the start of the trail. It wasn't quite dark yet, but it soon would be.

Kudo nodded but didn't verbally answer. Shrugging Hattori moved in. They followed the small trail for about a kilometer before Kudo stopped staring at a small gap in the trees. "What is it Kudo?"

Hesitating the shrunken detective licked his lips. "I… uh… think I left the trail here."

"You were still small then." Hattori said examining the foliage. The branches from just below his waist and up were undisturbed, while the lower branches did show signs of breakage.

"Y-yeah."

Heiji glanced back to see Kudo gripping his scarred arm and giving the vegetation a pensive look. "Well, let's check it out." Heiji said pushing forward.

Together the two left the marked trail and Heiji glanced around as he walked before he noticed a small tree snapped in half. He went over to it. "It broke when I leaned on it." Kudo said monotone. "It was getting hard to breathe."

"You were changing." Heiji guessed without question. Sure he was right.

Kudo said nothing. Heiji followed the path of least resistance from the broken tree a small shoe print in a bit of mud told him he'd picked the right direction. It wasn't too long before he spotted something red up ahead.

Squinting he moved closer to it, not sure what he'd found. The moment he picked it up he knew exactly what it was though. "Oi, I found your bow tie!" Heiji smiled as he handed it to his fellow detective.

Kudo played with it a bit before speaking threw it. "Yo, my name's Hattori Heiji and I lo~ove Kazuha." Kudo mocked.

Heiji tried to snatch the object back scowling as Kudo dodged. "Oi! I told ya ta stop mockin' my accent!" He stumbled as Kudo stashed the bow in his pocket. Spinning on the spot he yelled in Kudo's face. "And me and Kazuha are just friends!"

"Sure you are." Kudo chuckled, his eyes flashing slightly. "You're such a child."

Irritated and read as a tomato Heiji tripped over a branch before he could shoot back a retort. As frustrating as that was it gave him a moment to breathe. He glared at his diminutive rival. "Stop tryin' ta distract me, Kudo!" Heiji snapped looking ahead, he stopped, frowning.

There was something green and white on the ground. Shining his light to get a better look Heiji realized it was fabric. "Was this yer shirt?" Heiji asked. "Looks like someone took it through a shredder." Heiji looked to see Kudo frozen his face losing color almost immediately.

Well, that was a strong reaction. Instead of pressing Kudo Heiji decided he'd just see what the evidence had to say. Walking a little farther he found a small clearing. Kudo's shoes lay at the edge torn to tatters, exposed wires proving they were more than what they'd appeared to be, now completely useless laying next to another pile of fabric. Kudo's pant's it seemed. Heiji always found it odd that Kudo never seemed to rip out of his clothes when he grew, always seeming to have time to get them off, but this was extreme.

Shaking his head he decided it wasn't important at the moment. Just a step away he found Kudo's watch the clasp was snapped but otherwise it was still working. Heiji tossed the item over to its owner and studied the open space. Kudo quietly dug his belt out of the torn fabric of his shredded pants and stepped back, a deep frown on his face.

Heiji was focused and followed the boy's old print's as they sunk deeper and deeper into the mud. It seemed Kudo had started crawling at some point. Clawing at the earth in pain as his body seemed to have been struggling to shift sizes. It wasn't long before he found a bright blue string. Kudo's stitches lying in the mud and a splash of blood. As Heiji continued his green eyes widened. He wasn't seeing what he thought he was. Little child hands and dragging legs slowly growing and then shifting into massive clawed paws.

He glanced back to see Kudo hadn't moved from where he'd backed off too. His eyes hidden by his hair and a deep frown on his face. Heiji stopped once there was no trace of humanity in the tracks he was following. There he found Conan's glasses resting innocently on a leaf just beside the mud. Open and somehow intact. With a shaking hand Heiji picked up the eyewear. "Kudo…"

A bird shook the leaves nearby as it flapped its wings. There was a tense energy between the two. Heiji wasn't sure what to say.

Suddenly Kudo's brittle voice broke the natural ambiance."I didn't just dream it, right, Hattori?" Kudo's childlike voice asked with a quiver. "Heh…" Heiji turned to watch as Kudo drug a hand through his hair looking up to the canopy of the tree's his brow's knitted and his eyes wet. "I- I don't know what I want you to say…Confirm the crazy theory I came to this morning… or tell me that I somehow just turned into Kudo and had a really, really, bad hallucination. I honestly don't know which is scarier. On one hand, it would mean monsters are real, on the other… I've somehow lost my mind. Hattori… wh-what is the evidence telling you?"

Heiji swallowed. His heart was beating like crazy. His deductive mined was processing the information fast enough but the logical side wasn't. The evidence was pointing to only one thing. It was impossible- as impossible, if not more so, then his silly alien theory from the evening before. Oh, but how Heiji now wished that theory were true. This… this was not something he'd ever imagined- how the hell was he supposed to help Kudo with this?

Abduction was like whoosh and done. They could make jokes about aliens not understanding what a detective was but this was like a permanent curse! Curses weren't laughing matters… and it was so much harder to deal with things when you couldn't make light of them.

No! That wasn't the problem here! What the evidence was suggesting- it was fantasy! Fantasy!

Heiji began to pace as he went through everything he knew. Kudo had been acting strange since he was bitten by that wild animal. Which now that he thought about it Kudo did say it wasn't a bear…

 **Nearly a month ago…**

Heiji sat on a couch in the Mouri Detective Agency's office as Ran brought out some tea. "Thank you for coming, Heiji." Ran's smile was strained.

"Of course," Heiji said. "I would of been out here the moment I heard- but there were some major test happening in school and, Mom and Kazuha were forceful."

Ran chuckled at that. "It's okay."

"So where is he anyway?" Heiji asked looking around half expecting to see the glaring child already there.

Ran looked up and Heiji followed her gaze. "He's in his and dad's room." Ran sighed. "I've been worried he's been having nightmares but he's refused to tell me anything."

"Probably too prideful." Heiji said. "Don't worry. I'll figure him out for ya." Heiji stood.

"Ah." Ran stood with him. "Just-" Heiji stopped at the door, as Ran hesitated, looking to her confused. "He's been… sensitive."

Heiji blinked. That didn't make any sense in his head. Shrugging he headed up the stairs. "Well, either way, I'll get him talking."

Ran smiled a bit, as she stopped at the foot of the stairs, more relaxed. Heiji glanced back to see her standing there watching him her hands gripped together anxiously. "What is that moron thinkin'?" He mumbled to himself. "Causin' that girl so much worry."

The door was shut when he reached the room and Heiji knocked twice before opening it.

It was dark, the curtains closed, and on the small futon on the floor was a lump of blankets. Kudo had positioned his cast in a manner that had it resting on the right side of his pillow while his other hand pulled the left side down. "That doesn't look very comfortable."

There was a flinch and an irritated mumble. "Shut up."

"Well, that's one hell of a greetin'."

"What are you doing here Hattori?" The exasperation in the boy's voice told Heiji that he knew exactly why he was here, he just wasn't happy about it.

Heiji answered him anyway. "For ya, ya moron."

"Idiot."

"Having nightmares about the bear attack?"

"It wasn't a bear."

"That wasn't a no."

Conan sat up, glaring at the taller teen, his casted arm shifting to rest against his stomach. His hair was a mess and dark circles were under his eye's. "I'm fine Hattori."

"Like hell ya are!" Heiji stomped over to a dresser where he knew Conan stored his things. "Get dressed." He said throwing a set of clothes at the mock child.

"Why?" Kudo asked with a defeated voice as he struggled to pull on the clean shirt.

"I'm gettin' ya out of this buildin'." Heiji said smiling. "We're goin' to have a guy's day out."

"Please, spare me." Kudo said flopping back down burying his face in his pillow.

"Na ah!" Heiji grabbed Kudo by his good arm dragging him to his feet.

"I don't want to!" Kudo whined.

Heiji blinked surprised. "Oi, Kudo, it's just us two up here. Ran can't hear us, ya don't have ta act like a child."

"I'm not acting like a child!" Kudo snapped. "I don't want to go!"

Crossing his arm's Heiji gave Kudo a searching look. "Why not?"

Kudo took in sharp breaths, clearly trying to calm down. "It's too noisy."

"Too noisy?" Heiji asked.

"Yeah…" Kudo glared at him daring him to tell him he was being dramatic. "Not just noisy but bright, pungent, and… it's like overstimulating. I can't handle it right now."

"Yer going back to school in a few days and ya can't even go out with me?"

What Heiji could only decipher as fear flashed across the smaller's face only to be replaced with defiance. "I don't have a choice." Kudo said a slight growl in his voice as his fist balled. "I'm trying… I really am… but it's too much. I keep snapping at Ran." The look on his face when he said this was broken. "I don't know why…" He rubbed his eye's quickly.

Kudo was clearly upset by the way he'd been acting. Heiji could tell he didn't want to be doing this. "Look." Heiji said slowly scratching just under the brim of his hat. "How about this, you go out with me, we'll take it slow. Go to a park or someplace quiet. If you get overwhelmed I'll bring you back."

The shrunken detective hesitated before he finally nodded.

"It'll be alright." Heiji said leading Kudo out the door. "Ya just wait and see."

"You don't understand." Conan said following slowly.

They were back within the hour greeted with lukewarm tea by an unsurprised Ran.

 **Present Day…**

Heiji shook the memory away. The breaking point that day had been when a train rocked past the park they were in. Kudo had been sitting on a bench the whole time. Heiji was irritated because his offer for soccer had been shot down and he was running out of ideas. Suddenly, Kudo was curled up and begging for it to stop… Heiji called it a day then.

Oversensitive hearing and smell, if Heiji wasn't mistaken… Prone to irritation… overall emotional really… Last night had been a full moon… just like the night Kudo had been bitten…

Heiji shook his head again coming to a slow stop. "Ya… ya have the shittiest luck Kudo." Was all he eventually managed to croak out.

The small broken chuckle he got in response was not comforting. "Tell me about it." The two were left under a heavy silence before Kudo continued his voice shaking. "As if reliving my childhood wasn't hard enough now I have to do it with a monthly furry problem. Well, if the stories are true anyway… so far they've been… accurate enough."

Heiji found himself chuckling as he folded Conan's glasses and stuck them in the pocket of his brown blazer. Okay so maybe they could find a few jokes in this mess. Taking a shaky breath, Heiji looked at Kudo seriously, feeling the initial shock and underlining fear begin to fade. This was Kudo. "So… I guess you really weren't attacked by a bear."

The false boy snorted. "What was your first clue?"

Heiji glanced at the ground stuffing his hand's into his pant pockets. "So… What did happen last night?" He looked up studying Kudo carefully.

Kudo shrugged as he put his watch in his pocket not looking at Hattori. "I really don't know for sure… I have flashes here and there… Of me running… Of the moon… but it's all fuzzy and disjointed…" Taking a moment to breathe he continued. "When I first ran away I thought for some reason a Black Organization Member was chasing me…" Kudo distractedly picked leaves off of his muddy belt. "Then I was chasing them into the forest. I was chasing shadows… I'm pretty sure I was hallucinating…"

Taking a deep breath he continued standing straiter, looking as if he were delivering his final deduction on a case, being blunt and as straightforward as possible. Only a tremble in his hands as he slipped on his belt hinted at his trepidation. "The pain hit soon after entering the forest. It was a lot like changing sizes… my limbs were on fire. My heart was beating like crazy. I ripped through my shirt when a sharp pulsing pain shot through my chest. Then I was on the ground somehow… I tried to stand… but everything hurt… using the tree's I managed to make it to my feet, but then like a wash I felt like I'd exploded… for a moment everything went black and I found myself gasping on the forest floor again. I tried to get up. I didn't feel safe. I felt like… I was being hunted. So I kept trying to move… but it was hard. My heart and body kept spasming. I knew I was changing… I think the last coherent thing I saw was my hand getting bigger… then… claws…."

Heiji nodded, acknowledging that what he'd heard matched up with the evidence, but mostly letting Kudo know that he was listening. "I came to with warm flesh in my mouth-" Here Kudo stopped swallowing deeply as he took a nervous glance at Hattori before looking away again his whole body was trembling. "My hands… They were in its stomach… I- I panicked. I didn't know what was going on. I…tripped trying to get away from the body, slipped in the blood and mud…" He chuckled listlessly. "More than once actually… I didn't know what it was… just that it had fur… then I stumbled for a bit trying to… I don't know… find you guys… but then my exhaustion took over and I collapsed." Kudo's shoulders dropped as he finished speaking, rubbing his face vigorously.

"W-well-" Heiji stopped as his voice cracked feeling his blood run cold at what Kudo had described. "I guess it's a good thing we came out here. Ya, uh, ya might a killed someone's pet otherwise."

Kudo's hands balled into shaking fist. "Or someone." Kudo glared at his feet and Heiji could just feel the self-loathing rolling off of him.

"Hey, hey." Heiji made his way back to his Tokyo friend placing a hand on his head, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair. "No one got hurt. It's okay. We know what's goin' on now. Ya got me, and Ran, we won't let ya hurt anyone."

Kudo shook his head. "H-how can I tell Ran about this!?" He gripped his shirt with his right hand as his left curled desperately around his scarred arm and he took a step back. "I can't tell her! And not just because I'm a monster! Hattori when I turned back I was Shinichi! I- I can't- if she find's out… oh god!" Kudo curled into himself. "This is so much worse. So, so, much worse! Hattori I… I don't think I can stay with Ran anymore!"

Heiji blinked in surprise. "What?"

"It's bad enough that I endanger her and her dad just by being with them… because They'd kill us all if They ever found me. I can't- what if I k-kill her? I couldn't live with that. This is just too-" Kudo stopped his breathing becoming ragged.

"Calm down… look Kudo… I don't think leavin' Mouri is a good idea. She supports ya like no one else can. Why don't ya just tell her-

"I've TOLD you why I CAN'T!" Kudo screamed glaring up at Hattori. The other took a step back in shock as Kudo snarled. The boy's eye's flashed from a sky blue to ice as his irises widened darkening around the rim's. His canines were visibly sharpening as his body shook.

"C-calm down Kudo. I'm just trying ta help ya." Heiji held out his hands in a placating manner.

"I NEVER ASKED YOU FOR HELP!" Kudo was literally growling now. Eyes going wide with shock he stopped gasping as dark brown fur broke out across his neck and arms. "No. Nononono!" he gasped wrapping his arms around himself as his breath became strained. "This can't be happening! This isn't real!"

"You're goin' all w-

"Don't say it!" Panic was in his every breath and his every move. "Ahh! There has to be another explanation-

"Kudo. Breath." Heiji took a step forward stopping just outside of touching the other.

"This can't be real- I can't be shifting into- into- I thought this was only supposed to happen on full moons!" He whimpered.

"Ju-just try ta calm down. Breathe. Look, we don't have ta tell Ran. We'll figure somethin' out. Okay? Maybe ya can come live with me for a while…" Heiji didn't think that would work but he had to say something.

"Idiot." Kudo gasped, apparently aware of how unlikely it would be.

Heiji's shocked look melted into a thoughtful one at that as he put a hand to his chin. "I remember reading somewhere that strong emotions could trigger a change as well." Heiji said easily then made a small sound as he refocused on the issue at hand. "So calming down really would be in our best interest."

There was a small laugh from Kudo. "That goes without saying." Then he squinted up at Heiji through one eye he was forcing open through the pain. Amusement flitting through his features. "You read about werewolves?"

Heiji felt his face go red. "It was a fantasy novel! Kazuha said it was good…"

"You're giving me advice form fiction?" Kudo groaned curling more as he seemed to either be laughing or crying. Knowing him Heiji assumed it was the former.

"Ya got any better ideas? 'Sides, I thought all text concerning werewolves WAS fiction!"

"No…" Kudo moaned falling to his knees. "No better ideas."

Heiji kneeled down and without any thought began rubbing Kudo's back. The boy stiffened at first but he slowly began to relax. The fur slowly retreating and his breathing evening out. "There ya go. Nice and easy now." Sightly stunned that his impulsive action had helped, Heiji breathe a sigh of relief.

"Shut up." Kudo mumbled to the ground. Heiji could see the red on the boy's ears and figured he was embarrassed. Well, better that than a furry ball of fury. He chuckled.

Glaring up at the green-eyed detective Kudo snapped. "What?"

"At first I was thinking it'd been easier if ya'd been abducted by aliens because I could tease ya about bein' probed but with how shitty this situation was I didn't think there was any way to make light of it…"

Kudo was giving him a look of incredulity. "What?" His face seemed to be asking him why he'd want to do such a thing.

Heiji ignored it. "I think I was just in shock, ya know, because I just remembered there are plenty of furry jokes out there."

Kudo's face did go red in anger this time, but to Hattori's delight, embraced rage didn't seem to spark the boy's transformation quite like furious fear had. He had no idea what the hell the two of them were going to do about his furry situation but for the moment they could still tease each other and that gave the dark-skinned detective hope even as he dodged irritated little kicks aimed for his shins.

* * *

 _Authors notes:  
So… yep… there is a lot that Heiji understands and deducts in this chapter that I don't actually mention or point out… but maybe he'll bring it up in the future?  
Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the extra long chapter… so far it's the longest for the whole story…  
Don't worry, Thursday will have an update too..._

 _Thank you for reading!  
_

(Words used 4005. Original date posted 01-07-2018)


	7. Chapter Six

_Authors notes:  
Why do I feel mildly obligated to put a note here…?_

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Six

Kazuha let out an irritated sigh. "Those two… running off and leaving the planning ta us." She and Ran were sitting in the hotel lobby looking at booklets and flyers. Kazuha was nursing a coffee and Ran had a small tea that they'd picked up from a nearby coffee shop.

"Let them be." Ran said. "It's kind of a relief to see Conan going out on an investigation. We haven't had much work at the agency and I think he's been using that and his injury to hide away. This'll be good for him."

"I guess…" Kazuha conceded. "I mean he seemed so twitchy yesterday, and I know ya said as much but I didn't realize how moody he was. I mean he pouted nearly the whole train ride out just because he thought we were bein' unfair for draggin' him out here… but I'm surprised ya've let him go after running off like he did."

"Ever since he went to the hospital last month he's been so irritable and overly sensitive. I just don't know what will set him off lately. Even his teacher has noticed. You know, a few days ago he threw an actual fit because his favorite shirt was dirty and I wouldn't let him wear it. He pouted all day. He's never done that for something so silly before." Ran said conversationally. "Yesterday… he was scared. He kept asking me if I saw the men in black." She shivered.

"Which is why I'm even more curious as ta why you let him go." Kazuha said throwing down the brochure she was looking at. "I'd think you'd be worried he'd disappear again!"

"I am a little…" Ran admitted letting out a tired sigh. "But Hattori is with him and it was Hattori who insisted he go."

Kazuha bit her lip. "I still don't understand what they're investigatin'."

Ran shrugged taking a sip of tea. "From what I gathered Hattori was really curious as to how Conan ended up covered in deer blood. I guess they're retracing his steps."

"I honestly don't care what Conan did last night!" Kazuha said crossing her arms her irritated look shifting to concern. "I'm more worried about why he ran off…"

Ran nodded worry in her eyes. "Yeah… I am too."

Kazuha huffed tapping her fingers on her crossed arms in annoyance, then she sighed giving Ran an apologetic look. "Why do ya think he ran off?"

"At first… I thought he was mad because I wasn't listening to him… like I said he'd been talking about men in the shadows all day. I never saw anything and I said as much… each time he looked so irritated… and worried… after this morning, though, I realized he must have just been scared."

"You don't think there was anyone really there, do you?"

Ran shook her head. "I think he was hallucinating… and I've been thinking about it all day but I can't figure out why…"

"Maybe he had a fever and we didn't notice?" Kazuha suggested.

"Maybe…" Ran said with a sigh… "Or maybe it has to do with that animal attack."

"What do ya mean?"

"I don't know…" Ran said hesitating rubbing her thumb against the lip of her teacup. "But all of this started then…"

"Ah…" Kazuha said frowning. "Ya don't think it's, like, rabies or somethin' do ya?"

Ran shook her head. "I read up on the symptoms… It doesn't quite match… either way, I should have known something was wrong. Well, I mean I did, but I didn't know how wrong things were. Maybe if I had he wouldn't have run off in the first place." Ran quickly blinked back tears.

"W-well, He seems better today…. He only complained a little about joinin' Heiji's mystery solvin'."

"Which is so unlike him…" Ran said sadly.

Humming Kazuha looked to the pamphlets spread on the table in front of them. Her eyes landed on something that had her eye's sparkling. "Well, I think I found somethin' that just might help him relax."

Leaning over in curiosity Ran asked. "You think it'd be good for Conan?" She watched as Kazuha pulled the small advertisement from their stack.

"Most definitely!" Holding it up the girl's smile grew when Ran smiled too.

* * *

Conan sneezed, his replaced glasses falling askew from the action, as he walked slowly behind Hattori. The larger teen was walking lazily with his hands up behind his head and looking up at the stars his thoughts just as distant.

Studying his equal, Conan pushed his glasses back up, it wasn't just anyone who could find out their friend had been turned into a… monster, and just accept it like it wasn't that big a deal. No lasting fear. No condemning him. Just concern and a desire to help.

Crossing his arms and looking away from the teen. Conan grumbled over the strange feeling of warmth settling in his bones. He still wasn't used to having close friends other than Ran. People never got him before… So it wasn't like he wasn't appreciative of Hattori and his insistence on friendship. It was just hard because he didn't really know how friends worked- because past experience said he wasn't very good at being one. So it was rare that he even allowed himself to think of Hattori as a friend. More often he thought of him as a fellow detective- an equal- or a rival depending.

Right now it was harder to pretend. So he was trying harder than normal not to call the other an idiot. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to say thank you either. It was so much easier solving mysteries than figuring out how to treat people. "So…" He decided to let those thoughts go. "We're heading home tomorrow?"

Hattori sighed dropping his hands and stuffing them into his pockets glancing at his shorter companion. "Yeah, in the evening."

Conan looked at the other as Heiji was clearly trying his best to hide how frustrated he was with the prospect. "You said you'd help me." Conan said dryly before his voice became slightly teasing. "What are you gonna do from all the way in Osaka?" The boy prodded trying to get a rise out of the teen. He felt like he should be trying to cheer the other up and help him back if he could. Yet, this teasing was all he was able to come up with. He figured he was, as Sonoko often said, just a jerk.

"We'll figure something out." Hattori mumbled looking away again.

Conan grumbled. He really sucked at making others feel better. Worry nagged at the back of his skull as the other's dour mood continued. Maybe… Hattori was worried about him. "I'm okay…" He finally said, hoping to reassure Hattori now.

All he got in response was a half-hearted grunt and a distracted. "Sure."

Crossing his arms Conan felt anger rising in his stomach. Taking a deep breath he calmed himself. Hattori sighed giving Conan a clearly worried glance. He said nothing though and the two of them continued on in strained silence. It was really grating on Conan's nerves. He had no idea what the other was thinking or why his mood had suddenly shifted… Unless…

"What do ya think the girls have planned for tomorrow?" Conan asked trying to gauge Hattori's expression but he was looking up again. Conan waited for an answer.

"That's right…" Heiji said slowly. "We did leave the planning ta them."

Conan nodded pleased with the response. As long as they kept conversation engaging Hattori would eventually speak his mind. "We did."

"It was a good way ta keep them busy while we found out what happened ta ya. Since ya clearly didn't want anyone lookin' into it."

Conan looked away from Hattori's searching look feeling his stomach drop. It wasn't accusing, just questioning, but he was still embarrassed by the scrutiny. He, Kudo Shinichi "savior of the police," had tried to run away from the evidence. Hoping that it would be overlooked. Hoping, like a child, that it would disappear and with it everything that it revealed. "Un." Was all he managed to say in response.

A long heavy sigh left Hattori as they came around a corner and found themselves coming to a stop in front of the hotel. It was the kind of sigh you hear from someone who just didn't have the energy to fight. Hesitantly Conan looked toward the other. "Hattori?"

The dark-skinned detective just shook his head and looked to the hotel. Conan recognized the fond look that fell over his face, even as Hattori spoke in an irritated voice. "Knowin' that moron it'll probably involve shoppin'."

Conan blinked looking back to the hotel. Letting out a soft chuckle he nodded. "Yeah, even if she doesn't buy much Ran seems to really enjoy shopping too."

The silence fell on them again and Conan wasn't sure why this time. Hattori looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't sure how. Conan began to wonder if his friend was really as okay with all of this as he'd been acting. Maybe Hattori didn't think it was safe for Conan to be near the girls…

Logically that would make the most sense and Shinichi at his core couldn't blame him. Still part of him hoped that wasn't the case. Hattori caught Conan's eye and the seriousness in them had the boy stuck in full attention. ' _Here it comes._ ' Conan swallowed back his inhibitions.

"You…" Worry flooded the taller boy's eyes. "You ready?"

Conan felt his head tilt just slightly to the side in confusion. "Ready?"

Hattori looked slightly relieved and immensely amused by this response. "Ta have our ears chewed off for it been so late. I'd promised to get ya back before dark."

Conan laughed feeling a bit bad now about the earlier delays. "Sorry." He sighed. Inside he felt his stomach knot with anxiety. If something happened to make him overly emotional he feared the worst. He hoped he could keep calm. "You'll hit me if I start freaking out too bad right?"

Shrugging Hattori gave a mischievous grin. "Hey, what are friends for?"

"Ha. Ha." Conan shot back with as board a face as he could muster. Inside his nerves settled a warm feeling of trust and gratitude filling him, as they headed inside.

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

 _Such cute brotherly bonds…  
Anyway… next chapter kind of begins the first mystery… does anyone have any suggestions on jurisdiction? What officers should pick up this inevitable murder about to be? The made-up mountain village they're at is about an hours train ride outside of Tokyo. Maybe I should just make someone up… uhg… more naming._

 _(Words used 1730. Original date posted 1/11/2018)_


	8. Chapter Seven

_Authors Notes:_

 _So here we have the first mystery…  
_ _I just can't make things simple for myself… the first mystery could have happened on the street… but nooo._

 _*quietly grumbles to self*_

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Seven

"Three hours." Heiji groused. "Is this some sorta payback?"

Kudo just looked bored to his friend. "Idiot. That's only part of it. Besides after that kabuki theater… this is much more bearable."

Heiji cringed. He'd seen Kudo's face during the play while Heiji wasn't exactly a fan of kabuki theater he didn't mind it. It seemed Kudo's latest curse made it physically painful. The high notes and trilling instruments had the boy cringing and flinching constantly throughout the showing. Still, Kudo put on a smile for Ran and only covered his ears during the climax.

It did get a little hairy when at the end Kudo's fangs started showing and Heiji noticed it kinda looked like the boy was wearing a fur sweater under his shirt- but a quick run to the bathroom and they were back to normal- or close to anyway.

At the moment the two of them were leaning against the outside of some kind of an antique's store. Waiting on their girls. "I see your point." Heiji sighed at least here there was little that would cause Kudo more stress. Heiji bit his lip. It took a while but after their conversation in the woods Heiji had a secondary freak out. After the other's had gone to bed he'd snuck out and walked around the hotel a few dozen times trying to wrap his head around it all. Somehow he'd come to a sort of acceptance of it.

That was more than could be said for Kudo, he knew, and he really wanted to talk to the shrunken teen- but if he freaked out on the street it wouldn't be good for any of them. Not that he actually thought Kudo would hurt anyone more like others might hurt the little detective, not understanding. Not that he really understood it all himself, but still.

Looking to the miniature sleuth Heiji could tell his worry was effecting Kudo. "K-Conan when we get a chance we need ta talk."

Just like the night before when Heiji brushed off the subject Kudo's head tilted in confusion, it was sickeningly cute. Especially in his child form, and Heiji would get mad about it except it didn't seem like Kudo was doing it on purpose. "What about?" Kudo asked. Heiji sighed, clearly the tiny Sherlock enthusiast wasn't even consciously aware of the issue himself.

The door next to them opened just then as the girls exited the store laughing lightly. "Okay, now it's time for our last stop before the ride home." Kazuha announced happily.

"The train doesn't leave till 6 pm. I got the last train ride out- that's 4 hours from now." Heiji said. "What do ya have planned?" His voice did nothing to hide his apprehension.

Ran nodded. "We both decided we needed to do something low key and relaxing. So we're going to the outdoor bath. Then, after dinner, we'll go back to the hotel and pack."

Heiji smiled. "Really!? That's a great idea! Right, Kudo?" Laughing when he saw Kudo glaring at him for the name slip. "I- I mean kudos for the great idea! Ha ha ha!"

"Of course!" Kazuha preened at the praise then she kneeled down to Kudo brushing his hair back so she could see his face better and gave him a soft smile. "It'll be a great chance for ya ta just relax." She stood quickly before Kudo could respond and began to lead the way.

Ran smiled down at Kudo holding out a hand. "Come on Conan. This'll be fun."

Heiji followed after them stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Even Kazuha's worried about ya, brat." Heiji said. Kudo nodded staring at the ground. Ran glanced at him as his hand tightened around hers. Heiji could tell something was bothering the mini detective but with the girls here- and considering what had generally been bothering him lately- it was hard to think of a way to ask discreetly. Heiji felt a grim smile cross his face. It all came back to not being able to discuss what was really important. He couldn't really blame Kudo for his caution though. Even if he didn't understand it completely, he knew that Kudo kept the secrets he did to keep Ran safe.

* * *

It took them 45 minutes to walk to the bathhouse however they were left waiting as the hostess dealt with a difficult customer. While they waited Conan took in the space they were in. The lobby was wide and welcoming with pale and natural colors and large windows that let in natural light.

A clearly disinterested Hostess rested her hand on the desk phone chewing her bottom lip but her eyes were steady as she refused to look away from the one antagonizing her. Leaning against the cream colored counter a man ran a hand through his greased back hair and winked. "Hey, babe, I know you like it freaky, what's say you and I go get a drink."

Conan made a face. This guy was thin and tall but had scars on his face that suggested he had a severe case of acne not too long ago. So either he was acting older than he was, not very good with personal hygiene, or unlucky.

"Wow. This guy is rude." Kazuha said crossing her arms in irritation. Hattori nodded in agreement pressing his lips together, probably trying not to cause a scene.

Conan yawned, figuring things would sort themselves out- and if they didn't there was no stopping the people with him from stepping in.

Numbly he found himself watching as a female attendant emptied a nearby ashtray stand. He blinked in surprise when he saw her glare at the counter. Conan looked at the man wondering if he bothered all the female employees like this.

With bored eyes, the hostess promptly pointed out the group standing behind him. "I have guest to attend to. If you have nothing of importance to discuss please be on your way." The man frowned giving them an irritated look before he shrugged. "I can always ask again later." With that, he stalked away and the woman let out a relieved sigh before greeting them with a strained smile.

"Welcome."

"Do you get that a lot?" Kazuha asked.

The woman sighed. "Not usually. It's okay though, he's just flirting."

"That's some pretty rough vocabulary for just flirting." Hattori said glaring after the guy.

"Well…" The woman shrugged then shook her head as she pushed a lock of her brunet hair behind her ear smiling broadly. "Welcome to the Sunset Onsen. My name is Kobayashi, how can I help you today?"

The group shared a quiet glance but confirmed that it was just them and that they were using the public baths. After paying they headed further inside.

"That was strangely awkward…" Ran said.

"It was…" Kazuha said as the group began to head toward the separate locker rooms.

They passed a man dressed in a black suit who was whispering in a slightly angry manner to another. Conan, curious and cautious, as alway's, watched them closely as they passed them. "Of course I know it's a scandal Nobuyoshi." He heard one of them hiss as they glanced back at the hostess dabbing his forehead with a cloth.

"You know nothing Taiki." The other responded coldly.

' _Heh… this place seems full of drama._ ' Conan thought dryly.

"Okay…" Ran said as she stopped in the hall just a few feet from the red and blue curtains leading to the locker rooms. Kneeling so she could look Conan in the eye she smiled. "Now you and Hattori have fun. We'll meet out here in an hour and then we'll go to dinner." Ran said then made a slight face that was partially worried and partially begging. "Though if you want you're more than welcome to join Kazuha and me."

"I want to go with Heiji!" Conan said instantly.

The girl let out a defeated breath and smiled. "You think you'll be okay?"

Conan nodded but before he could verbally answer there was a high pitched cry.

"Nooo!" The group turned to see a small child about four or five pulling at the skirts of a middle-aged woman. "I don't want too!"

"Yuki you have to." The woman said adjusting the strap of her bag. "Your older brother isn't here to take you to the other bath and your dad is running late."

"But I wanna go to the men's room. I'm a man mamma!"

The woman smiled kneeling down. "Yes you are, but you're still too young to go by yourself." The response she got was a massive pout.

"Aw, cute." Kazuha said softly.

Ran smiled giving Conan a knowing glance. ' _Hey, hey_.' Conan thought it was embarrassing to know she was probably thinking he was on a similar wavelength as the kid. Even if it was kinda true it had less to do with what was manly and more to do with common decency.

"Take care of him." Ran said to Heiji as she stood.

"Yes, Mam." Heiji gave a thumbs up and she and Kazuha giggled as they walked past the mother and child into the women's locker room.

"Come on ya brat." Heiji lifted Conan off the ground and carried him under his arm into the locker room.

"Hey! Hey!" Conan cried. "Put me down!"

* * *

Heiji sat down in the water and sighed. A light red scratch on his cheek throbbed slightly. "You're an ass." Conan grumbled sitting in the water next to him.

Heiji shrugged looking up and watching the cloud's float by slowly. "This was a good idea." He said.

Conan sighed. "I guess, it's a bit hot for my taste though… but its quiet at least and it looks like we're the only ones here for now."

Heiji blinked looking around, noting the emptiness of the bath. "Oh, this is perfect then." Heiji sat up straiter giving Conan a serious look.

"Uh…" Conan felt a wash of anxiety rush through him. "What?"

"About what's happened."

Conan's shoulders dropped and he let out a ragged sigh. "Hattori, I thought the point of this was to relax."

"It is, but I can't see ya truly relaxin' when yer lyin' ta yerself!"

"W-what?" Kudo looked genuinely confused.

"Just tell me one thing, Kudo. Have ya even thought it yet?" Conan was silent, but he refused to look away from the older teen's searching gaze. "Have ya actually acknowledged what's happened ta ya?"

The two stared at each other both equally stubborn before Conan ripped his gaze away glaring at the cloudy water.

Heiji sighed. "I thought not…"

"What does that matter?"

"It matters a lot!" Heiji said. "If ya can't say it at least think it- ya aren't gonna be able to function if ya keep ignorin' it!"

"Why don't you say it then?" Kudo snapped glaring up at the teen.

"I tried and ya nearly bit my head off." Heiji said in a bored tone as he leaned back relaxing again. Kudo snorted at the exaggeration. "Plus it don't matter if I say it. Yer the one who needs ta face it."

"How will you know if I've acknowledged it if I don't say it out loud?" Kudo asked annoyed. "I could just say right now that, yes, I have thought it- what then?"

"No, ya haven't." Heiji's face filled with a soft kind of understanding. "If ya had you wouldn't still be actin' so shaken… ya would be more like yerself and be facing it." His eyes grew hard and he balled his fist. "Ya'd be talkin' ta me about findin' the bastard that bit ya- and not tryin' ta hide from the fact's like ya've been."

Conan could feel hot tear's fill his eye's and he turned his gaze to the water, half between staring at it in shock and half glaring at it in anger. He felt his mouth open and close, struggling to find a way to respond to that.

Just then the door leading into the baths opened, making both boy's jump, and the man who'd been flirting with the Hostess and an older gentleman walked in. Their conversation would have to be put on hold. Conan glanced at Hattori who was back to looking at the clouds as if the conversation they'd been having hadn't been life-altering.

For a long breath Conan focused on his breathing. He was not about to panic or rage. The other two occupants settled and a kind of quiet calm filled the air. Cudo found himself calming without too much trouble. At least compared to the frustrations of the last month.

Suddenly, Heiji was talking very softly. "Ya don't have ta think too much about what I said right now… I just wanted to point it out. It felt… like ya didn't even notice."

Conan swallowed. It was true enough… his mind was all over the place lately and, well, he'd never been too good at paying attention to himself much… "I know this hasn't been easy for you either." His voice was hoarse and he felt his limbs trembling.

"Hu?" Heiji looked at him surprised.

"You aren't normally this restrained… you've been thinking about this sense the forest right?"

Heiji shrugged. "Ya got it rough enough right now… I didn't want ta rile ya up."

"Well… th- thank's Hattori…" Conan said.

Heiji looked a bit taken aback but smiled as he ruffled Conan's hair. "No problem squirt."

"Hey-" Conan's protest came up short as he felt heat run through his chest. "Wha…?" He put his hand to his chest but the feeling was already gone.

Heiji gave him a serious look. "Ya okay?"

"Yeah… I think…"

Heiji didn't seem convinced but shrugged. "Well, we're here ta wash all our problems away. So, just relax. Okay?"

Conan nodded. Letting his head rest against the wall. feeling his cheek's heat up as he began to wonder how Ran was doing.

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

I'm really tired, so sorry if there are any glaring mistakes... I'll fix them if you point them out. Thanks...

 _Also, these notes are going to be a bit long…_ _  
_

 _First of all, I hadn't had it planned that Heiji would talk to Kudo about this- I actually hadn't had it planned that anyone would… at this stage I kinda expected him to tackle things himself and then when the time came have some helpful words from Ran or a stern talking too from Ai… but last chapter when I first tried to flesh it out Heiji was insistent on talking to Kudo about this- in fact, it almost started a friking fight. Kudo wasn't ready for that at the time- barely holding it together as it was… and I didn't want there to be that kind of tension between these two… at least not yet. I rationalized that Heiji could have known it was a bad idea to push it. So I considered how both characters were feeling/acting and apparently even though Heiji wanted to say something he thought better of it- but he was insistent that they talk… so the moment they had a free moment together this happened… (yes I let the characters run the show… maybe that's why I can't write short stories…)  
Really, I can't wait to get back to Tokyo where more characters will come into play…  
Now, let me take a moment here to clear somethings up._

 _I've never been good at naming characters… so naming characters from another country is… impossible… I honestly just used a random name generator and just put the first ones that came up to use. So if these character names (and the ones that appear in the future) are odd that may be why… I also have a bad memory for names… I actually have a list of all the characters and their association with each other open on my desktop when I write this… so I spell them right and don't mix up one person with another by accident…(though I haven't had to use it too much yet…) if there are names that have been used in the show as a previous victim or a minor character- or resemble actual people just remember that is purely coincidence…  
Actually, there's a lot I don't know that makes this part of the story difficult… please forgive me for cultural miss understandings… I did all the research I could in such a short time but… yeah…_

 _I originally wanted to use a real mountain village with an outdoor bath but decided the research would take too long for the purpose of this story (which is for fun and not to stress myself out over what is and isn't real) so I kind of took bits and pieces from all over the place and made up a location… like I said last chapter its about an hours train ride from Tokyo… still thinking about police officers… but I'm pretty sure I know who it'll be._

 _(Words used 2330. Original date posted 1-18-2018)_


	9. Chapter Eight

_Authors Notes:_

 _I've alway's been okay at dialog… not so good at capturing surrounding details… I've been trying to add in more scenery stuff… but it alway's feel's forced and awkward… it doesn't help that the girls aren't nearly as observant as the boy's unless prompted.._

 _Also how come "everyone" and "something" is one word but "each other" is two words? Oh but there is a proper way to use "every one" and "some thing" this way too… but "everyday" and "every day" are interchangeable and "eachother" is always wrong… uhg! English irritates me sooo much but I don't know how to write in any other language… so, for all I know, it's not that bad…?_

 _Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Eight

In the women's bath, there was a young woman sitting quietly toward the middle of the bath leaning against a stone. An old lady was sitting by the artificial waterfall with her eyes closed. In the water near the door, a foreign girl sat with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The cliffs and tree's rose up around the bath's giving a sense of seclusion.

It had been about ten minutes since the girls had settled into the bath and they'd chosen a spot near the wall. Kazuha took in a deep breath as she stretched her arms over her head hair pulled up tight into her normal ribbon. "Oh, this is so relaxin'!" Ran nodded. Her long hair was pulled up into a loose bun to keep it from getting submerged. She was staring quietly at the water with a fragile smile. Kazuha looked over at her concerned. "Hey, are you okay?"

Ran blinked looking at her surprised. "Oh, yeah!" Her smile was soft and worried. "I'm great. Conan's starting to act like himself." A strained quiet followed her words.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Ran was surprised by the confused question. "Of course! Why would you even ask?"

"Ya, just look kinda upset…"

Ran made an "oh" face. "I'm just worried about going back…" She sighed with a weak smile. "It's only been a few days- but Conan's really doing better… I mean he ran away… and I'm still worried about that… but since he and Heiji went out on that investigation he's been more himself… what if going back make's him worse again?"

"Oh…" Kazuha studied Ran quietly for a moment before smiling. "Yer really a nice person, I just can't get over it." She laughed then frowned looking suddenly serious. "Ya gotta remember though that Conan went through a traumatic experience… he might not truly be himself for a while…"

Ran nodded biting her lip looking sad. "Yeah… I… you're right. I just- it's hard to think about. I mean. Conan's been through so much. I thought him getting shot was scary enough. This has been… kinda worse just because once he was healed, you'd never know he'd been shot… You know?" She watched as the mother scolded her child for splashing.

"I guess…" Kazuha hesitated. "Ta be honest neither sound all that great. Maybe it might even be a combination of all the crazy things that have happened ta him…"

Ran nodded. "Yeah… I often wonder if living with me and dad is really best for him… if it weren't for us he wouldn't be seeing dead bodies every other day…"

Kazuha hummed. "Why is Conan staying with ya and yer dad anyway? I don't think ya ever told me."

"His parents are out of the country and he ended up with us somehow…" Ran frowned remembering it was Dr. Agasa who was originally in charge of Conan. Didn't he ask her to take him in because he wasn't able to take care of a kid… but now he was taking care of Ai… Ran jumped as the older woman coughed and she shook her head. Her thoughts were slipping into dangerous territory again. There was one thing that was undeniably true though… "He's become a part of our lives in such a way that I don't know what I'll do when he leaves…"

Kazuha was silent, not sure what to say. After a long pause in the conversation she finally hesitantly said. "I'm sure that he'll stay in contact even if he goes back to his parents and leaves the country."

Ran nodded, unsure. Conan was a good kid but he wasn't always thoughtful of others. The door to the bath opened and a tall thin girl walked in smiling as she waved to the petite girl sitting alone in the middle of the bath. Ran watched the two as they immediately started talking quietly to each other. The new girl looked familiar but she wasn't sure why.

Ran sighed shaking her head. She wasn't a detective. There was no reason to worry about where she'd met the girl or if she'd just seen her in passing. Leaning back she tried to just relax. Conan wasn't the only one stressed out after all.

She frowned slightly irritated as she heard the beeping sound of a truck backing up. This high in the mountains where the cliffs rose around the bath's you'd think such noises would be unheard. The sound just reminded her of the noises of the city that had clearly been grating on Conan lately.

Suddenly there was a splashing sound they could hear from the other side of the wall that separated the baths joined by a harsh yell. "HATTORI!"

Ran looked at the mural separating the two sides, depicting dragons and rivers, and stared in shock. "What the?" Kazuha said confused. "Who's yellin' at Heiji? He better not be rough-housin' I don't wanna find out he's been kicked outa the bath."

"That sounded like… but it couldn't have been…" Ran murmured looking up just as the tree's hanging over the back side of the bath's shuttered and a body fell out hanging limply by the neck. Staring in horror she found her blood running cold as she recognized the hostess who'd greeted them. Then she and Kazuha were screaming in shock.

The mother screamed pulling her child to her once she noticed what had scared them. "Someone call the police!" She cried.

The girl who'd just came in rocketed out of the bath rushing through the locker rooms presumably to do just that.

* * *

To be completely honest, Conan was not happy with Hattori. He kinda wanted to take back the "thank you" he had given him. Even though he'd been trying so hard to say it in the first place for everything else. Hattori shouldn't feel good about making him feel like this! It wasn't exactly fun having an existential crisis! Getting told that you weren't even really facing it- Conan shuttered. This was taking his mind in loops… was he really having a break down over the fact that he was having trouble facing the fact that he was avoiding a fucking existential crisis!? Oh... it was becoming painfully clear that he was having a hard time facing this.

Putting aside everything else, putting aside all this was doing to his body- to his mood's- the fact that he wasn't sure he was in full control of his actions all the time anymore. There was still the fact that he'd grown up not believing in this stuff; in monsters- of the fictional kind anyway- because there were people he'd met (especially recently) that he'd not hesitate to call monsters. Or should he really think of it that way? Sense, clearly this wasn't fictional. Unless he wanted to think of himself as fictional now— and his thoughts were running away from him again.

He'd tried to relax and it had worked for a moment- Hattori had said he didn't have to think about it and he didn't want to at the moment. Thinking of Ran had distracted him for a time. It wasn't hard to do with her- she was his best friend and he loved her in a way that suggested more than friends… so his mind tended to wander…  
Usually, it would be a great way to relax a bit, but thinking of her now just brought up memories of the last month and how he'd been acting. It brought up what happened a few nights ago how he'd…

Heiji was right, he wasn't able to think it! There was nothing to do about the month. There was no way he could have ever imagined that the reason he was overly sensitive was because he had gained super senses…

Well, that wasn't entirely true either… he'd had suspicions- even tentatively tested it out once or twice- but it freaked him out too much. It wasn't natural. It made no sense. Logically he could have pieced something together that wouldn't have caused him so much panic if it hadn't of been for the visit from Kid.

Oh, yes, Conan had tried very hard to forget the encounter but his memory was a little too good for that and it was just a little too weird to forget but not weird enough to write off as a dream, unfortunately.

So then the only conclusion to draw now was that he'd been living in denial for the past month and for all intents and purposes he still was. What with the whole emotional instability and all he shouldn't be surprised. A sense of shock was still running through him though. So he needed to just stop acting like a child and face the truth.

"Oi…" Conan blinked rapidly suddenly coming back from his deeply troubled thoughts to find himself taking gasping breaths. "Ya don't look so good…" Hattori was saying.

Conan felt a surge of pain run through his veins focusing in on his heart. He gasped his hand going to his chest.

"Oi, Kudo." Hattori's voice was suddenly strained with worry. "I thought I told ya not to think about it-

"How could I not?" Conan growled back. "Besides… this isn't- urk!"

"Kudo!?" Heiji felt his throat tighten as he tried not to yell in panic, he was pretty sure he failed the way the older gentleman had twitched a bit in his snoring. The flirt-jerk had left not too long ago- which Heiji thought was weird because it hadn't been but maybe 15 minutes since he'd entered the baths. Still, Kudo had suddenly started hyperventilating and his eyes were going silver almost white and the way he was gripping at his chest was unsettlingly familiar though he'd only seen him do that when he was turning into Conan- and he was Conan right now so…

"Ya gotta be kidin' me." Hattori couldn't help but say.

Kudo took in sharp breaths. "I th-think I'm dying."

"No, not dying- but the girls might just kill us both if Conan vanishes." Heiji said.

A strained snicker left Kudo. "Oh, and wouldn't that be a just death?"

Heiji figured Kudo was in too much pain to really know what he was saying at this point so ignored him. They needed to get him out of here before-

The sound of the door opening kicked Heiji's brain into panic mode as he saw Kudo's body stiffen and the sound of a scream start to leave his small body. He did the first thing that came to mind and shoved Kudo under the water. The water bubbled.

Then bubbled some more. The sound of a backing up truck was the only sound heard as two men stepped into the water. Conan would have recognized them as the men in suits if he wasn't currently underwater. Heiji was beginning to worry because he'd already let the little detective go and as he went to pull him up Kudo in all his teen glory suddenly shot out of the water his eyes blazing a pale blue, his teeth sharp. "HATTORI!"

Heiji found himself fighting back a ridiculous onset of laughter. It was highly inappropriate. Kudo had every right to be pissed, but his face was red, and as his eyes faded back to normal Heiji just couldn't help but find the skewed set of Conan's glasses on Kudo's face combined with the righteous fury somehow tickling something deep in his psyche.

Heiji glanced at the other's in the bath seeing the disapproving glowers of the two new gentlemen. This only made his nerves worse. The laughter finally left in a strained and tense chuckle. He was pretty sure this feeling wasn't purely amusement (even if it was kind of funny) and it was probably more of a shock response, but he was positive Kudo would not see it that way.

Expecting to get a tongue lashing Heiji was surprised when Kudo stiffened. "Did you hear that?" The "modern-day Homes" asked suddenly looking very serious.

"Wha-?" Heiji's question died on his lips as a body swung in from the tree's hanging from the near by cliff. It rocked back and forth a couple of times before the sound of screaming from the woman's side reached them. He felt his body move before he even registered a corse of action.

The tree was in such a place that its branches hung just over the wall, allowing the body to be seen from both sides. Conan- no Shinichi stared up at it in shock. The smell of blood was overwhelming and he felt himself unable to do anything but watch as Hattori expertly scaled the wall. This shook him from his stupor and he followed, as Heiji began to lower the body, knowing exactly what the other was doing. Hattori was easily able to reach the woman from the wall and with Kudo's help, they untied the noose. Kudo grabbed hold of a bit of fishing line as it came loose from the knot. Holding onto the strange string he and Hattori lowered the girl to lay on the wall. Neither had much hope but Hattori's shoulders still dropped when he confirmed it. "She's dead."

Kudo nodded and began to take in what he could of the scene. There had been a thick twine rope around the woman's neck, but blood had run down from her temple and down the side of her face onto the rope around her neck and continued down. Dripping down her arm and from her fingertips. He looked up to the tree that was still shuttering from the body's release. This was clearly murder.

"Hattori!" Kazuha's voice reached them and both boy's stiffened. Before they looked down to see the women looking up at them wide-eyed. Each hunkered down below the surface of the opaque water. All except for Kazuha, who was stood her whole chest exposed to the air, with her hand's on her hips as she glared up at them. "What'cha doin'! The cops will be here any minute! Do ya want ta perform the whole investigation naked in view of everyone!?"

Hattori and Kudo shared a look of horrified realization. Heiji then hissed at Shinichi his eyes somehow going wider. "Yer glasses."

"Is that… Shinichi!?" Ran asked sounding surprised.

Shinichi cursed and pulled Conan's glasses off his face quickly as Heiji laughed loudly. "Ha, yeah! We ran into each other here, isn't that crazy- well the girl is dead! We're gonna go get dressed now!" Heiji grabbed Shinichi's arm and pulled him with him his face red as he tried not to think of the bare-chested Kazuha.

"What happened?" The man still dubbed flirt-jerk in Heiji's head asked in a panic as he'd just now re-entered the bath. "Is she really dead?"

"Yeah." Heiji said. "We need to get out of the bath's- wake up the old man." He directed this to the other two.

Nodding the men did just that. Heiji took a deep breath calming the rush from that… experience. Looking over he bit back what was becoming a familiar on slot of curses.

Kudo was breathing hard his eyes wide and fangs showing. "Oh god… this is awful… I mean it's not like it's the first time I've seen Ran in the bath- but it is since- and…" Kudo was going red as his ears started to get slightly pointed. He could feel his blood boiling.

Heiji just groaned. "Frikin'… We don't have time for ya ta wolf out because of yer hormones. We have a murder ta solve."

"I know- Don't call it- I'm not-

"Then prove it!" Heiji whispered harshly glancing at the other men to see they were arguing with each other about whether they should be getting the body down from the wall or not.

"This isn't easy you know!" Shinichi snapped looking slightly crazed. He was starting to grow what Heiji could only call sideburns and it had the Osaka detective laughing. He could see the rage in Kudo's eyes but couldn't help himself. It took a couple of seconds but he managed to calm the giggles.

"Oh god, good thing I've gotten in the habit of pakin' extra clothes recently." A shudder ran through the detective's body and Shinichi would have asked if he wasn't so pissed at him. It didn't help when Heiji placed a hand on his back pushing him toward the exit. "Come on." Heiji snickered sure that he was just letting loose a lot of the stress of the last couple of minutes. "Let's get dressed. I'm sure they want everyone outa the bath's."

Just then there was a crackle as the PA system kicked on. " _Attention, there has been a death on the grounds, will everyone please calmly exit the baths and gather in the lobby. No one is permitted to leave. I repeat, please gather in the lobby._ "

Kudo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Closing his eyes he repeated breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly once more before his features began returning to normal. "Right." He opened his eyes looking to Heiji seriously. "There's a killer to catch."

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

 _Kinda wish I had more time to work on this but I know from experience if I ignore the set upload date to "improve the chapter" it becomes a habit and then I'm uploading once a month or less... so here we are, it is what it is.  
_

 _I thought of splitting this chapter up but decided against it… I hope no one is upset by the appearance of Shinichi… there is an explanation for this… which Haibara will be undoubtedly explaining in the future… but for now, let's just say that Kudo's body's even more unstable than he realized… (There's a lot that I'd like to take slower in regards to this but for the sake of time I'm going to speed up the process- unless you want me to try to meet the show and manga in length… which I would rather not…)_

 _So… who thought it would be the flirt that would die?  
No one…? Okay. Well, here we go, you've kinda met the suspects… soon you'll get names and occupation and yada yada… but I'm curious if anyone has figured anything out yet… I'd be surprised if you have. I really haven't given too much away yet…_

 _I've very little practice with mystery writing… and murder is hard. I felt super conflicted trying to figure this out… spending my free time contemplating murder._

 _Anyway! I hope you enjoyed this crazy chapter… thank you so much for reading!_

 _(Words used 2865. Original date posted 01-25-2018)_


	10. Chapter Nine

_Authors Notes:  
This chapter is... something else... I'll probably come back and clean it up later... sorry. I have to drop this and run.  
Let me know what you think._

 _Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes._

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Nine

* * *

"So…" The beady eyes of one Inspector Yamamura Misao narrowed as he looked around the room, hand's on his hips, as he tried and failed to convey a sense of superiority. "Who found the body?" There were three other officers in the room. Two of them were doing a search while the other stood by with his hand's behind his back listening intently to the following investigation.

Kudo slumped. ' _Why him?_ '

"Uh… all of us?" One of the teen girls, whom Kudo recognized as the attendant who'd been cleaning the lobby earlier, said.

"All of you? Aside from the deceased, you all are the only ones on site… Weird. Let's start with names and occupation and what you're doing here… I guess." Yamamura said pulling out his notebook.

"My name is Ishikawa Kazuko and this here is Yuki." The mother said without prompting.  
"We're just here for a bath, waiting for my husband… Was this suicide?"

"We won't know until we at least get a report from the officers examining the body." Yamamoto said looking unsure.

The mother looked to her son worried brushing his hair back. Ran bit her lip looking around nervously as it occurred to her that she hadn't seen Conan yet.

"Okay…" The inspector looked around. "You. What's your story." He pointed to the foreigner.

"I am Leandra Iñiguez, I come from Brazil… er… Sorry, my Japanese not so good… I come here to experience your country and its wonderful traditions… I'm sorry this tragedy happen."

"Oh! Well, welcome! I have never met someone from Brazil before!" Yamamura said excitedly. "Is it a nice country?"

The woman shrugged. "I think so, but I may be biased."

"You know I once had a chance to go to Brazil but-

The nearby police officer coughed into his hand. "Inspector…"

"Oh, sorry I got off track." Looking at his notes he murmured to himself. "Okay next… How about you?" He asked looking expectantly at the young man who had flirted with the hostess when the group first came into the bath house. "The name's Sato Shiori…" The young man said crossing his arms. "I uh… work in gaming, I guess… I just wanted to relax…"

There was a snort from one of the other men, one wearing glasses, and Sato glared at him. Yamamura frowned scribbling in his book. "Well, a bath is for relaxing." He said before moving on. "Now, you two?" He said pointing to the elderly couple.

"I'm Makoto Abe," the woman said. "And this is Makoto Akio, my husband. We come here every Sunday."

"Ever since we retired." The older gentleman agreed. Yamamura nodded taking down the names then turned to look at the next person.

The man in question was the one who had scoffed at Sato; he was tall and thin with thick dark hair. Nervously he pushed up a thick pair of glasses. "My name is Fujioka Nobuyoshi, I take care of the finances…"  
"The finances?" Yamamura looked confused.

"Er, yes, for the bath. This is a business… I was just taking a break when… pore Naomi…"

Hattori shifted perking up slightly. _'Naomi? He addresses the victim by her given name?'_

"Yes… Kobayashi Naomi. She was the hostess that died… and your niece?" The Inspector said looking to the next man. "Isn't that right Mr. Mizushima?"

"That's right." The man was slightly pail but standing tall his dark eyes steady as he looked down at Yamamura. "I'm the owner of this establishment Mizushima Taiki. Naomi just recently graduated after working here for a time I had decided to start training her to take over for me in the future…"

The girl standing next to him ducked her head as both Mr. Mizushima and Yamamura looked to her. "I-I'm Mizushima Sora… Mr. Mizushima's daughter… I'm a… radio DJ…" She fidgeted pulling nervously at her fingers. She was a petite girl with long thin dark hair and dark eyes.

Yamamura looked confused. "So you were training your niece to take over, and not your own daughter?"

"Well, she show's no interest." The man said stiffly.

The girl's head fell slightly as she studied the ground intently. Thin fingers came to rest on her shoulders as the other young woman stepped forward. "It has less to do with that and more to do with him being ashamed of her. Right?"

"Hitomi…" Mizushima Sora said carefully.

"And you are?" Yamamura asked.

"The name's Moto Hitomi. I'm the attendant- or janitor if you want to be more accurate. I take care of the upkeep of these baths."

"Wait, what do you mean he's ashamed?" Yamamura asked voice suddenly sharp as he fought back an excited smile.

"I'm not ashamed." Mr. Mizushima said stubbornly. "And if I were, it would be a personal manner."

"Ah…" Yamamura narrowed his eyes at Mizushima Sora and said. "Would you have killed her in a fit of jealousy?!"

"What? No!" The girl said shock faced. "I would never- I mean Naomi was family- why would I?"

"That's what I want to know!" Yamamura said. "Maybe you want the family business."

"No- I much prefer music… I was upset when I missed out on the hostess position… but…" The girl fidgeted.

"It wasn't her." Yamamura twitched at the voice of Kudo. The officer squinted giving him a suspicious look. Hattori was also giving Kudo a curious look. "Well, we'll get to more serious questions if this turns out to be a murder." He said before he scribbled some more into his notebook.

"Uh… so you said that you all found the body at once… how-

Ishikawa who was now holding her child in her arms gestured toward Ran. "That girl she noticed it first I think, but the body fell from the tree's to hang over the baths."

"Fell out of the trees!?" Yamamura looked shocked then blinked looking at the indicated girl. He squinted and then blinked some more in surprise. "Oh! Ms. Ran!" The ever enthusiastic man greeted happily. "Is The Sleeping Kuogoro here as well? How about little Conan?" He was looking around as if he expected Mouri Kogoro or Edogawa Conan to pop out from behind one of the indoor plants.

"No, no." Ran waved apologetically. "It's just me and my friends. Dad's home working on a case. Conan… was here…" She frowned at Hattori who rubbed the back of his neck avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, is it an important case? Sound's exciting!"

"Well…" Ran shrugged not really wanting to get into such a potentially long-running conversation at the moment. Her father's case had had something to do with a man suspecting his wife of cheating anyway, nothing too exciting. Besides, there was an Osaka teen she needed to shake down.

Said boy was suddenly looking serious as he spoke to Yamamura. "Shouldn't we be tryin' ta narrow down the suspects?"

"Hum…?" Yamamura blinked rapidly a few time's before his face lit up again. "Oh, it's you! The Osaka-accented kid!"

Hattori felt his brow twitch. "The name's Hattori Heiji, I'm a detective!"

Shinichi placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Yamamura, this is a murder. We need you to focus."

Yamamura hummed. "You're sure about that? I mean it makes sense that if she was hung that it would be more likely that she committed suicide…"

"That doesn't account for the blunt force trauma." Kudo snapped. "Or how she dropped in over the baths long after she was already dead."

The man's eyes narrowed in on the teen detective in confusion. "Who are you?" Then his eyes widened as he took in the words. "Wait? Trauma? How would you know that?"

"Hattori and I took her down from the noose- we were hoping to save her if we could, but she'd been dead for a good 10 minutes or more before she swung in from the trees."

"You couldn't possibly know that just from looking at the body…" The inspector said in all seriousness then narrowed his eyes with a small grin. "Unless you're the killer."

Kudo glared back. "I'm no killer, the evidence was obvious."

"The blood flowing from the wound on her head covered the rope around her neck until it was dripping from her fingers, suggestin' that it had time ta bleed; head wounds bleed a lot but if she received the injury when falling there wouldn't have been time for it ta cover the rope and run down her arm. If ya ask me cause of death was probably the blunt force trauma ta her head and not the rope around her neck." Hattori said.

"Why would the killer put her body out for everyone to see?"

Kudo stiffened before he took a calming breath. His eyes flicked over the suspects but Hattori wasn't able to figure out what he was looking for. He doubted the officer in front of them even noticed. "Look," he pulled out a fishing line from his pocket wrapped in cloth. "I found this tangled in the knot of the rope. I think it has something to do with the trick of this case. Plus right before the body fell I heard a strange noise."

"Noise?"

Kudo nodded. There was a small upset in the room from this news. "Did you hear anything?" Mizushima was asking Fujioka who was shaking his head.

"The only noise I heard was the sound of a truck backing up." Kazuha said looking up in thought.

Ran nodded. "Me too…"

"Not that. It was like a… click or clack, swish… kind of sound. There was something off about it…" Kudo placed a hand to his chin in thought.

"Wait, wait." The tall dark haired Sato said in agitation. "You said she'd been dead for 10 minutes? That's impossible! I saw her like 5 minutes before she hung herself!"

"What?" Hattori and Kudo said in unison.

"That's impossible!" Mr. Mizushima snarled. "It takes at least 7 minutes to walk up to that part of the hill from the building and Naomi would never…"

"Look, I went back out to flirt with her some more but she just gave me more of her cold shoulder." He scoffed. "For a girl who slept with the guy in charge of finance to get her job she sure is stuck up."

"What the hell gave you that idea!?" Mr. Mizushima growled. "I asure you that she earned her job!"

"Doesn't mean she wasn't sleeping around though." Moto said crossing her arms with an irritated look. Fujioka was turning red and the young Mizushima looked nervous.

"Exactly!" Sato said in exasperation. "Frickin' chicks man…"

"That 'frikin' chick' is my dead niece!" Mr. Mizushima growled.

Kudo sighed shaking his head. "Oi." Hattori frowned looking the other over. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing…" Sinichi was irritated. The moment they gathered in the lobby he knew who the killer was. He could smell it clinging to their body, the stench of blood and bleach. There was only one problem. He couldn't very well just out and say that. Like all the other cases when he'd figured out the culprit early on in the case without any evidence he'd just have to find the clues to smoke them out. This was a bit frustrating though, he'd never had it shoved so blatantly in his face with little to no evidence to stand on so early in the hunt.

He crossed his arms and looked around the room. "Ya okay?" Hattori asked.

Was he? Shinichi wasn't sure… He still wasn't comfortable with current circumstances but as he studied the postures and faces of the suspects he blinked in sudden slightly horrified realization. "Has it really been a month since I last did this?"

Hattori snorted. "Look who's finally wakin' up." Then he frowned as he too studied those in the room. "Still, I wonder who here would have a reason to kill?"

Grumbling slightly Shinichi put a hand to his chin studying the ground more than the suspects. "I wonder…"

Hattori gave him a narrowed side glance as Shinichi schooled his features. "Wait… ya know who did it? Already!?"

"Be quiet." Shinichi reprimanded holding up his hands. "I can't prove it, okay?"

"But ya have it narrowed down to one. How? The questioning's barely started!"

"I don't know any more than you." Shinichi said frowning. Which was true enough. It wasn't evidenced to say he could smell blood on someone. So as far as he was concerned he had nothing. Not until he had at least the how, and with any luck the why.

After glaring at Shinichi for a solid minute Hattori crossed his arms with a huff. "Ya better tell me when this is all over." Hattori grumbled getting the hint that Shinichi wasn't going to say anything on the matter.

Shinichi nodded walking away. Hattori watched as he moved around to the other side of the desk.

"I think we should start trying to piece together Kobayashi's day." Yamamura said.

"Well, she came in at 9 this morning…" Fujioka said.

Mr. Mizushima nodded. "Yes, in fact, my wife is supposed to be here in less than an hour to relieve her…"

"She took a 30-minute break at about 1:20 pm…" Moto said looking thoughtful. "I just got off for the day a few minutes ago and joined my girlfriend in the bath."

Shinichi knelt down only to stumble back from the smell he'd found. "Shinichi?" Ran asked, as she saw him do this, looking worried.

"I'm fine." He gave her a shaky smile before motioning for one of the officers who was scouring the potted plant for clues. "Hey, do you have Luminol?"

The officer nodded digging through a small duffle bag. "Of course."

"Find something?" Hattori asked.

"Just the murder scene." Shinichi said calmly as he stood switching off the lights and lowering automatic blinds on the large windows. The group gasped.

"What are you doing-?" Mr. Miushima's anger faltered as Shinichi began to lightly spray the ground behind the desk. The area had an immediate reaction, lighting up like a galaxy.  
"I think I'm starting to piece this together." Kudo said.

Yamamura's eyes shone with excitement. "Oh…"

"Good for ya, want ta fill in the rest of the class?" Hattori said irritated.

Looking up in slight surprise, as the officers nearby took photos, Shinichi stood. "Well… I know that the murder happened here. Using that cigarette stand as an improv weapon." Heiji frowned as an officer took that as a cue and sprayed the object. Just as the floor had the lip of the stand also glowed. "I just don't understand… everything regarding her injuries suggests that this was a violent and angry crime… spur of the moment… why would the killer take the time to set up an elaborate way to reveal the body? More importantly how… the display suggests premeditation… the execution suggests unplanned violence… It just doesn't add up…"

"Maybe the killer just wanted them dead and didn't care how… maybe they wanted everyone ta see the body." Heiji said.

"That would mean that they want to be noticed somehow… if they wanted to be caught they wouldn't have cleaned up after the murder…" Kudo mumbled incoherently.

"AH!" Yamamura suddenly said pointing at Kudo as he hopped from foot to foot. "I know you! You're that kid the Detective of the East- Kudo Shinichi!"

"Ah…" Kudo cringed back.

* * *

Just a few feet away Ran stood by Kazuha staring at her childhood friend as he tried to deal with Yamamura's excitement. "Hey, why haven't ya said anythin' to him yet?" Kazuha asked.

"I…" Ran looked at her Osaka friend a lost look on her face before glancing back to Shinichi. "He sounded so irritated, and he looks… stressed."

"Even more reason ta talk to him!" Kazuha said.

Ran bit her lip watching as Shinichi rubbed his chest. She felt her heart skip a beat… something told her he was going to leave again soon.

* * *

(Number of words: 2660. Date posted: 02-010-2018)


	11. Chapter Ten

_Authors Notes:_

 _I acsadently replaced this chapter with the last one when cleaning up some small mistakes... so the original notes to this chapter are gone... but the story itself should be the same. let me know if you notice anything off._

 _Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Ten

As the overall mood of the room started to settle from the tense atmosphere that often followed the discovery of a body Ran finally felt free to move. So stilling her heart and her worries she marched forward. "Ran?" Kudo pulled himself immediately away from Yamamura's excited gushing when he noticed her move. He clearly had noticed how tense her shoulders were and looked her over with concern.

"Not now Shinichi…" Ran said waving him off, and it left a pang in her heart to see the hurt and worry on his face but she had a mission. Stopping next to the dark-skinned detective she felt her hands settle on her hips as she glared him down. Just a breath away from taking a martial stance. "Hattori, where is Conan?"

"Uh…" Hattori rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well, ya see, about that…"

"Conan?" Kudo said stepping up beside them. "The little glasses kid… I'm sure he'll turn up."

"Don't even start!" Ran snapped feeling all too irritated with the current situation. A murder was bad enough but Conan disappearing after he'd run away but maybe a night before was nothing to brush off. "I'm not going to be reassured by the king of running off, that is unless you're going to tell me where you've been this time?" She leveled a glare at him.

Kudo opened then shut his mouth; his shoulders rising and his head lowering as he took a step back. "Mouri, look. Conan's around. No one was allowed ta leave remember? I bet he's just in the bathroom or somethin'."

"More importantly," Kudo said wiping his brow. "I would like to do a sweep of the building… there's got to be a few more clues as to why this happened. It's a shame there aren't any cameras…"

"More important?" Ran felt a growl growing in her chest and Kudo looked surprised by her reaction. "We're talking about a missing child Shinichi!"

"I think what he meant ta say was that there's no way we won't find him while we search." Hattori said holding up his hands.

Ran narrowed her eyes at the two, suspicious, quietly fighting back old theories. "Fine. Me and Kazuha are going to go look for him."

"He'll turn up soon." Kudo said. "I promise."

The weak smile he gave her made Ran pause. "Will you be here long?" She asked hesitantly.

The brittle smile that he gave her was answer enough but his words only sealed it. "I don't think so… I may not even be able to stay for the whole case…"

"What?" Hattori's voice was as surprised as she felt. Kudo Shinichi never left a case unsolved.

"Hattori's here, I'm sure he has it practically solved already." Kudo said nudging the other detective's side eliciting an irritated frown from Hattori. "I'm… waiting on a… call… and when it comes I'll have to go."

"What are you doing that has you running off so much?" Ran asked barely able to keep the hysterics out of her voice.

A flash of sadness ran across Kudo's face before he buried it under determination. "If it weren't important I wouldn't let it keep me away. You know that, right? I would do anything- I'm doing everything I can… Ran." Kudo looked away as he cringed his hand rubbing at his chest.

"Are you okay?" Ran asked worriedly.

Kudo gasped curling slightly clearly in pain. "I feel like I'm about to get that call… Hattori… I'll leave it to you."

"Wait!" Ran called as Kudo took off down the hall. "Where are you going? We're supposed to… stay here…"

"Come on!" Kazuha took hold of Ran's hand and pulled her along as she took chase. "I won't let him get away!"

"Oi!" Hattori called running after them. "Kazuha! What the hell do ya think yer doin'?"

"K-Kazuha… I don't think-"

"I'm tired of watching him leave ya sad!" Kazuha said. "We'll follow him- then he won't have no secrets ta keep from ya!"

"I don't- I appreciate the thought but…" Ran trailed off as they rounded the corner to a dead end. Only doors leading to private baths lined the left wall.

"Where'd he go?"

Kazuha stomped over to the nearest of the doors and pushed it open. "There's only a few places he coulda gone."

"Kazuha." Hattori was being jittery as he hesitated to stop her knowing that getting in her way when she was like this could be potentially painful. "Please. Leave Kudo alone. We don't need ta be doin' this. I'm sure Yamamura is curious as ta where we've gone."

"Since when do ya care about stuff like that?" Kazuha asked pushing the next door open.

"Hattori's right…" Ran said hesitantly. "Knowing Shinichi he's long gone by now…"

"One last door!" Kazuha declared.

Hattori stiffened before stepping in front of her, blocking her way to the door. "Kazuha, please!"

"Out of the way ya moron!"

"I'm telln' ya there's nothin' here! Moron!"

"Guys…" Ran tried, but all three froze at the sound of a splash and a murmured sound.

"That's it!" Kazuha growled shoving Hattori aside and pulling the door open. She blinked as she looked into the room seeing the water rippling around a gasping Edogawa Conan. "CONAN?!"

"What?" Ran pushed inside to see the sputtering boy. "What are you doing in here?"

"Uh… relaxing?" Conan said rubbing the back of his head with a weak laugh coughing slightly.

"You shouldn't even be in here!"

"S-sorry…" Conan stuttered shrinking into himself slightly.

Ran let out a relieved sigh. "I'm just glad we found you. There's been a murder and we need to be in the lobby right now."

Kazuha nodded. "Where are yer clothes? We should get ya dressed real quick and go."

"Uh… in the locker room…?"

Hattori groaned rubbing his face in apparent frustration. "I'll go get 'um. Ya all wait here." With that, he was all but stomping down the hall.

Kudo, let out a long sigh from little Edogawa's lungs. Glancing at the corner where Hattori's borrowed clothes were bundled up. That had been too close. When he'd heard voice's so close he'd decided to go into the water- because as shitty as the experience had been Hattori's fast thinking had helped keep his secret in the bath- unfortunately the pain combined with the disorientation of the change had him borderline choking on bathwater halfway through the transformation. Unless he wanted to risk drowning this was not an ideal method for hiding the change. Not to mention that having a body of water to half drown himself in wouldn't always be available anyway.

"Conan…" Ran sounded disappointed now and he felt his head tilt slightly in confusion.

' _Did I do something wrong?_ ' The thought flicked quickly through his brain and he frowned. Ran was frowning at him as she pulled him out of the bath.

"You aren't supposed to put your head under the water! You should know better."

Anxiety rolled in his stomach at the reprimand. Normally he'd just laugh it off, she was assuming he was being unruly when in actuality he was just… hiding from her…

Something in his gut twisted. "I'm sorry…" He said feeling horrible all of the sudden. He grabbed the glasses he'd set next to the bath and slipped them on. Feeling himself shrink even more into himself. ' _What's wrong with me?_ ' He wondered.

Heiji slipped out of the locker room giving a small wave to the officer's who were checking the lockers. Tucking Conan's clothes under his arm he started his way back to the others. "After what you said to me this morning." Mr. Mizushima was all but growling at Fujioka. "You're fraternization is much worse in my eyes. At least Sora didn't feel the need to hide."

Fujioka frowned. "It was… wrong of me… probably, to associate with her like that. I still think I'm right. You were considering giving your daughter a second chance! Even after that!"

"You're engaged. This does not put you in a good light." Mr. Mizushima did growl this time.

"I was going to call it off… we were considering being more open."

"Is that the truth or just what you want everyone to believe? How can I trust that you aren't keeping more secrets?" The owner said. "Naomi isn't here to confirm or deny your relationship. How do I know you didn't play a hand in her death?"

"I would never-

"I don't want to hear it right now." Mr. Mizushima snapped. Fujioka snapped his mouth closed and looked away, his face dark with anger.

Hattori frowned looking down the hall where the two were talking they were passed the lockers still in sight of the lounge but way outside it. The cops were being pretty lax with that. ' _As long as no one leaves I guess it's okay…_ ' Heiji thought, deciding to let the two sort out their own matters.

As he entered the lounge area he saw that the groups hadn't really changed much. The mother and child were sitting near the window. The older couple not too far from them sitting on a cream-colored couch. The two teen girls were sitting on the complete opposite side near the hall he was needing to go to.

It looked like Yamamura was interviewing the flirt near the desk.

"Look." Shiori was saying to Inspector Yamamura. "I told you I saw her not long before she came flying out of the trees."

Hattori slowed, curious. "You saw her here, at the desk?" The investigator asked.

"Of course."

"Did you see her face?" Heiji couldn't help but ask.

"Of course I…" Shiori trailed off his face scrunching up in thought. "Actually… no, I didn't… she was turned away from me… putting some file's away… She didn't look at me… not even once. Weird."

"How so?" Yamamura asked.

"Usually she glares me down… like some kind of standoff. I think she's trying to assert her dominance. It's really frikin' hot."

"Interesting…" Yamamura said scribbling energetically into his memo pad.

Hattori cringed as he continued on, he was curious but on a mission. Though his ears were always alert. Right before he exited the lounge he caught onto another conversation. Mizushima Sora was crying. "I just can't believe she's gone."

"I know… but at least she won't hurt us anymore…" Moto was trying to comfort.

"They were just words. She didn't understand and I was okay with that!" Sora said. "I'm not okay with this!"

Moto's fist balled and her head fell. "I'm… sorry… I'm so sorry Sora…"

"It's not your fault." Sora said brushing the other girl's hair back as she gave a light kiss to her forehead. Moto pulled away and coughed slightly. "I- I'm going to go… to the bathroom real quick… Don't…" She hesitated. "Don't go anywhere."

Sora chuckled a bit whipping her eyes. "Where would I go?"

Moto gave a sad smile as she stood. As she looked his way Hattori noticed then that he'd stopped moving and was staring slightly. Moto glared at him as she walked up to him. "What? Never seen a couple before?"

"No- I uh… a couple?"

Moto sneered. "Don't pretend you weren't watching. I know you saw the kiss. I'm so sick of people pretending like what we have isn't real."

Heiji held up his hands feeling a slight blush cross his cheeks. "I wasn't… it's not any of my business."

"Hitomi." Sora said sternly.

Moto flinched before looking back to Sora with a sheepish smile. "Right… I'll be going now." She gave Heiji one more scathing look before she was down the hall he'd just come from.

"Sorry about Hitomi… she get's short-fused when she's stressed."

"Short fused…" Heiji said frowning after the girl. "She ever get violent?"

Sora blinked. "What? No. She's only ever just been mean. Though I can usually talk her down."

"How long have ya know her?"

"Since middle school. We've been close for a long time…" Sora blushed. "Though we've only been dating for less than a week."

"Oh…" Heiji shuffled. "She ask you out?"

Sora laughed. "No… she's too shy… I made the first move." She was super red but there was a huge smile on her face. Heiji huffed feeling one pull at his lips as well. It was an innocent kind of happiness. For some reason it made him think of Kazuha…

"Hey what's the holdup."

' _Think of the devil…_ ' Heiji felt himself jump a bit.

"Sorry, I was just talkin' to Ms. Mizushima here…"

"Well, Conan's gonna catch cold if ya don't hurry."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Good talkin' to ya." Heiji said as he joined Kazuha.

"You think she's cute?" Kazuha asked looking the girl up and down.

Heiji chuckled. "I mean I guess… but she's taken anyway. Let's just take care of Conan alright?"

Kazuha looked skeptical but conceded. "If ya say so…"

Heiji wrapped an arm around her shoulder dragging her along. "I do… now come on. Do ya really have to screen all the girls I might like?"

Kazuha frowned. "I don't screen! I'm- it's- ARG!" With that, she threw her hands up in the air and stomped ahead.

Heiji hesitated. "Was it somethin' I said?"

* * *

 _Words used 2258._


	12. Chapter Eleven

_Authors Notes:_

 _This one's short… sorry. I've been really stressed… some of the readers from my other story's have been pressuring me to work on those stories. I guess sense they've seen I've been writing… and I kind of got really anxious about wanting to do that and not being able to… and well… now this story suffered a bit from it… I feel bad. I'm sorry. If I need to I may update a few days late next week… just a heads up. I will update but it may not be on Thursday…_

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Eleven

"We're just going to check your belongings…" The officer was saying. "With any luck, we'll find someone with fishing line."

"Yes, yes." Kazuha was frowning as she pulled her bag out of the little locker. As she did this a crumpled piece of paper fell out. She and Ran looked at it confused before Ran picked it up pulling it open best she could.

"Kazuha… look at this."

She looked over Ran's shoulder and gaped. "We should give this to Heiji."

The girls looked at each other seriously before nodding and leaving their things and a confused officer behind.

* * *

"What are we lookin' for again?" Heiji asked as he and a shrunken Kudo walked down the hall to the maintenance closet.

Conan rolled his eyes. "I never said."

"I know, that's why I'm askin'."

"We need to find evidence. The killer cleaned up with bleach. The one place we're sure we can find it his here." He motioned to the small space where a single officer was looking through the inventory.

"How do ya know they used bleach? I mean other than it probably bein' the easiest ta use." The taller of the two stopped looking down at his peer in confusion.

Conan huffed not looking at Heiji at first before he glared at the taller boy. "I can smell it on them." He whispered.

Heiji made a face. "So ya can smell bleach on the killer?" He opened his mouth to point out that the bleach could just be from cleaning in general but realized if he could smell bleach like that from a distance Kudo could probably smell other things too. He nodded in realization. "That's how ya know who it is… and ya can't say anything 'cause no one will believe ya."

"No one but you." Conan nodded.

Heiji looked back to the closet. "What have ya found?" He asked the officer stepping up to see into the storage space.

"Just your run of the mill cleaning supplies." The officer said looking slightly unsure of how to deal with the young detective. "I guess there are a few strange items…"

"Like what?" Conan piped in with his innocent voice.

"Uh…" The man scratched his chin. "I found a wig… and some shredded papers…"

"Heiji!" Kazuha came all but running out of the lockerrooms with Ran at her heals. "We found somethin'!"

"What's that?"

"We found somethin' in one of the lockers. It looks like a suicide note."

"What?"

Heiji took the note from Kazuha and glanced over it. "Oh…" He said lowering it so that Kudo could read it as well.

Conan nodded. "This is just what we needed."

"Now we just need to figure out the how." Heiji said grinning. Conan lowered his head to hide the grin that matched Heiji's.

* * *

 _Authours notes:  
_ _I hope you enjoyed the chapter... even if it was short..._

 _(Words used 465. Original date posted 02-15-2018)_


	13. Chapter Twelve

_Authors Notes:  
So who else watched the Anime Awards that Crunchyroll put on? Just me? It was a nice change of pace. I'm learning to relax some… I think. Anyway. I debated with myself on how I wanted to do this chapter. I think I settled on a good route though. I hope you enjoy none the less! :)_

 _Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twelve

"So why are we outside?" Kazuha asked.

"Yer the one who insisted on comin' with us." Hattori said.

"That's just because Conan keeps running off, and you just let him last time!"

"I did not! He- we- it- AAARG!" Hattori turned his palms to the sky as he curled his fingers in frustration. Conan laughed weakly under his breath. He felt bad for Hattori, he really did, but it was kind of entertaining to see him trying to fend off the girls.

Conan, Ran, Kazuha, and Hattori, as well as Yamamura and one of his officers, were following Mr. Mizushima. They'd talked to the police and had shown the evidence they'd found. Now together they were going up the mountain. Mr. Mizushima had hesitantly volunteered to show them the trail.

"Well, I don't know what you two think you'll find out here." Yamamura said with a huff. "I figured you'd want to see the body…"

"We've already seen it." Hattori said. "I want to see where the body was before it fell."

Conan nodded looking around the parking lot they were walking past noticing trash bins lined up against the side of the bath wall.

The group continued on walking up to a small trail that was more overgrown than not. Conan felt himself moving closer to Ran as they moved gripping her pant leg. The young karate champion looked down and smiled at him. "I know it's a bit spooky, but their just trees." She said a slight tremor in her voice.

 _'Heh…'_ Conan thought. _'She's thinking about mountain spirits. I can tell.'_

He squeaked slightly as he felt Ran's fingers wrap around his hand. His nerves were on high alert and he wasn't sure why. The sound of rustling leaves and the smell of soil sent a shiver through his body. He swallowed deeply as the smell of blood hit him.

As they neared the tree that the body was hung from the sent of death only grew, sending Conan's protective instincts into high gear. He felt his hand gripping tighter to Ran, even though he knew the danger was in the bathhouse and not on the mountain. His brain and body did not agree. _'This… feeling… is this because of the… change?'_

"This is the tree." The officer with them said.

"Okay…" Heiji said touching the tree's trunk and looking around it. His brow creased as he looked at the ground.

Conan followed his nose as he looked into the shadows of the trees. There bunched up on the forest floor was a tarp. "A-le-le-le!" He pointed. "What's that?"

"Hum?" Yamamura blinked following Conan's direction with his eyes. He squinted and his face scrunched up. "It's too dark to see anything."

The officer pulled out a flashlight as Hattori watched Conan an unreadable look on his face.

As the light fell on the tarp Conan found himself having to squint against the brightness of the light. "It's a tarp." The officer said.

"What?" Yamamura walked up to it and together the two unfurled it a bit it was immediately obvious that the inside was soaked in blood.

"My god…" Mr. Mizushima placed a hand over his mouth, disturbed.

"This is how the killer moved the body." Hattori said. "It must have been at just the right time seeing as how there were no witnesses."

Conan nodded looking at the tree now where Hattori was kneeling. "What is that?" Conan asked.

Hattori returned his attention to what he'd found and picked up a bit of rope with a stick. "I don't know… this is odd."

"More rope?" The inspector asked. Hattori nodded.

Conan walked over to Hattori who was using a cloth to keep his fingerprints off the evidence as he found a heavy object tied to the end of the rope. "Is that…?"

"A sliding T bevel…" Hattori said a perplexed look on his face. "It's kind o' heavy… and a bit rusted."

"It's a bit old." Yamamura observed taking the tool into gloved hands. "Not collectible old, but definitely older than what one would normally find in stores."

"Why is it tied to this rope?" The officer asked.

Conan looked up into the tree and noticed a discoloration on one of the branches. The flashlight flew up illuminating the branch. "Is that rope burn?" Hattori asked squinting.

Conan gasped in realization spinning on his heal and running back down the trail. "Conan!" Ran took off after him, Hattori right next to her.

"Wait!" Kazuha gasped following after. Yamamura, Mr. Mizushima, and the officer were a few paces behind shocked by the sudden rush.

Coming out of the foliage the shrunken detective hissed as he was momentarily blinded by the sun and it took a moment for the blurred grayed colors to come back to life in the multiple hues he was used to. Looking around quickly he spotted what he was looking for leaning against a tree.

"Conan!" Ran scooped him up into her arms as she reached him. "This running off is not okay!" She said holding him arm's length away making sure he was looking at her as she spoke. "I don't think you realize how much you've made me worry the last few days!"

Conan squirmed uncomfortably. "Sorry Big Sister Ran…"

"What did ya find Ku- Conan?"

Conan pointed to a board leaning against the tree's a rope tied around it. "What is that?" Ran asked as Kazuha joined them.

"Warn a girl the next time ya want ta run off like that." She said fighting not to glare at Conan. The diminutive detective didn't show or feel any remorse for the action. Letting out a huff of irritation Kazuha joined them.

Hattori pulled the board back seeing the rope moving through the brush and as the other three stumbled out of the trail he moved to follow it. "What is he doing?" Mr. Mizushima asked.

Ran shrugged. The group waited a moment before Hattori popped back out brushing leaves off of his shoulders. "Well the rope seems to go pretty far but it seems it's frayed at the end."

Hattori looked around as Yamamura frowned. "That's… odd, but what does it mean?" Then he gasped. "Oh! maybe it was holding the body back?"

Hattori shook his head. "It looks like the same rope that was tied to the T bevel… a thinner rope than what was used to hang Kobayashi."

"Like a close line." Conan said as Ran sat him down but she held onto one of his hands.

"Then…"

"Yeah," Conan said. "The T-bevel cut the fishing line that was holding the noose."

"Would a fishing line really be strong enough to hold the branch and the body?" Hattori asked putting a hand to his chin.

"If they layer it. Wrapping the fishing line around the anchor several times." Conan said.

"Should we go back and look for more fishing line by the tree?" Hattori asked.

"I can do that." The officer said.

"Right!" Yamamura said. "You do that. I think I know what's going on now!"

Conan and Hattori shared a look. "Ya do?" Hattori asked hesitantly.

The inspector nodded vigorously. "Of course! Come on let's go inside and close this case!"

"Wait, what do ya think happened?" Kazuha asked.

"I'll reveal that once I reveal the killer!" Yamamura said happily. "I've seen you detectives do this enough, it's much more effective this way!"

"Only if yer right." Hattori grumbled

"Let's just get this over with…" Conan sighed.

Ran nodded. "Let's go." With that, the odd group headed back inside.

* * *

Authours Notes:  
So I think if I can get it all to go smoothly next chapter will be the last chapter before the characters all head home. So less Hattori but more actual story development. I think I'm going to change update day's to the weekends... it may be Saturday or Sunday... I am not sure enough yet to make it officially one or the other. We'll see.

( _Words used 1264. Original date posted 2-25-2018_ )


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Authours Notes:

The first mystery is ending here... and I feel like it is kind of quick but... I feel it could have been worse. Hope ya'all like it! :)

 _Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Thirteen

"You've gathered everyone…" Nobuyoshi said nervously. "Have you figured out what happened?"

Yamamura grinned proudly. "Of course I have! It's quite obvious when you put all the clues together!"

"Oh?" Mr. Mizushima asked.

"Yes!" The inspector said then spinning dramatically he attempted to strike a thoughtful pose, that came off a little more high school geek trying to look cool for the camera and less intellectual sleuth than he may have realized.

"It's clear from the clues that we have gathered that this was a violent crime, committed in a moment of high emotional tension! At least two of you here have a motive that fit's this profile!"

Conan and Heiji shared a glance but neither said a word. So far Yamamura hadn't said anything too off the mark. Even though neither one of them believed that he had the right suspect in mind.

Shiori grumbled and Nobuyoshi nervously adjusted his glasses. "You suggest a crime of passion?" The foreigner Iñiguez asked

"Exactly." Yamamura said his eyes narrowing as they shifted from the suited man to the one wearing a loose fitting hoody. "I believe that the victim had words with there murderer before they died. It was something in her last conversation that set the killer off. Leading them to murder!"

Conan tried not to laugh at the dramatics but a snicker snuck out anyway. "He's not exactly wrong yet." Hattori half snickered and half hissed. "Keep it together Kudo."

Conan sobered quickly at that. "Oh… just give it time…"

"Be quiet you two!" Kazuha failed to whisper.

"Considering what we know. You… had an affair with her!" Yamamura pointed to Nobuyoshi then to Shiori. "And you were constantly flirting with her. A word of rejection could have set either of you off."

"Fuck you!" Shiori growled.

"That temper is proof of it no?" Yamamura looked smug. "How is this for a theory? You went to the baths but decided you still weren't satisfied with your conversation earlier so you went to talk to her again. That's why you left the bath's you even admitted as much yourself. Eyewitness statements state you were gone a good 15- 20 minutes."

"As much as this man is a jerk, I don't think he did it. 20 minutes is not enough to commit the crime, clean it up, and carry the body up the mountain!" The young Mizushima said fist on her hips.

"So what are you suggesting I did it?" Nobuyoshi asked glaring at the girl."

"No. I um… I don't know… I'm just- I don't know."

"Ya need evidence to support a claim like that." Hattori spoke up his arms crossed.

"Er…" Yamamura frowned. "Well…" He crossed his arms. "Maybe he killed her hid the body, cleaned up, then later took the body up to the mountain."

"When?"

"Er…"

"Well, it is possible that after everyone else entered the bath's that ya killed her and then sat with us to look innocent before ya went back to clean up- twenty minutes might be enough then but-

Hattori barely saw what happened next as he wasn't really paying attention, just theorizing. A small blur moved in the corner of his eye as he saw a larger form move forward. "I'm not gonna go to jail for something I didn't do!" Shiori was screaming as he rushed forward.

The little blur suddenly registered in Hattori's mind as the little form of Conan and he jumped forward pulling the smaller detective into a protective embrace as he began a roll. He could hear Conan growling as they went down. Then pain flashed through his head and his vision went white for a second. The sound of clattering metal jarred him but brought him back. "You absolute moron! What the hell were ya thinkin'?" He berated the struggling Kudo.

"Ha-Hattori!" Conan sounded breathless. "Hattori! Hattori!"

"C-calm down." Heiji tightened his arms around the squirming boy in his arms. "I'm okay."

"He was rushing you- I- I had to do something- I had to protect Hattori." Hattori pulled back his vision blurred as he looked confused at the smaller detective. His vision was wavering in and out but he could see that Kudo was just as confused as he was by what he was saying but he wasn't sure why- his head hurt too much.

Something red fell to the ground next to Conan's head and they both froze. "Bastard!" Kudo's voice was rough. "You-"

Hattori could see the boy's eye's shifting even through his blurred vision and he could feel small claw's digging into his shirt. "Calm down. Kudo. Calm down." Hattori mumbled. "I'll be okay. I'm hard headed, remember?"

"Conan! Hattori!" Ran's voice suddenly registered to the two and Hattori looked up to see that Shiori was being cuffed. "Are you two okay?"

"Y-yeah." Hattori said. "I think Conan's kinda freaked out."

"You're hurt!" Conan growled.

"I'll live."

Conan moved his watch aiming through squinting eyes and over Hattori's shoulder as he fired the small hidden needle. Yamamura made a strange noise and stumbled as he fell against the wall sliding down limply. "What?!" Mr. Mizushima yelped.

"Kudo…" Hattori was fighting to stay conscious as spots began to fill his vision. Telling his rival that he was being reckless was a little beyond him at the moment.

"Inspector Yamamura?" Nobuyoshi hesitantly asked.

"Since when was it a good idea to attack someone to try to prove your innocence!?" Yamamura's voice came out angry but hushed.

"You all were all but pinning this on me! If I'm going to jail anyway I might as well go for a reason!"

"Hahaha!" Kudo laughed into his bowtie eyes narrowing dangerously. "You are an idiot."

"What?"

"We weren't accusing anyone yet. I was just pointing out some theory's to prove that they were improbable. Hattori was doing the same."

"What?" Shiori's voice cracked.

"The killer isn't you or Nobuyoshi." The two men shared a look of a combination of surprise and relief.

Nobuyoshi swallowed thickly. "Th-then who-

"It should be obvious. There's only one person who was away from the baths long enough to do any of this." Yamamura's voice explained. "There's only one person who knows not only the area enough but also knows where all the cleaning supplies are and wouldn't look suspicious carting out a large sack out to the dumpsters out back."

Sora gasped looking too her side her eyes wet and wide. "That's right. The killer was nonother than Moto Hitomi."

"What…?" Mr. Mizushima looked shocked. "But why?"

"It wasn't planned."

"It sure as hell looked planned!" Shiori spat. "The way that the body flew out over the bath when we were all there- how could that not have been premeditated?"

"You're right." Everyone looked to Yamamura as his voice continued. "The hanging was premeditated- but it hadn't been meant for Kobayashi."

"What are you saying? Was the killer planning to kill someone else?"

"It was planned for the murderer themselves."

There was a silence that seemed to suffocate the room. Hattori shifted feeling that Kudo's deducing had calmed him enough and neither had to worry about him looking more wolf than human. Sitting back he groaned feeling his head throb. "It was the note that Kazuha found in the locker room." He said.

Conan nodded. "It was a suicide note."

"Right." Hattori said. "Do ya remember who signed the note?" Hattori asked his eyes failing to focus exactly on his friend.

"W-well…" She glanced at Moto. "It said Moto…"

The younger Mizushima gasped. "What?"

"It was… before we started dating- I was so lost." Moto said her fist balling.

Conan moved behind the plant that Yamamura was sitting next to. "So from what I've deduced, this is what happened… you became enraged at her for taking your girlfriends job. For threatening her inheritance and insulting your relationship. So you hit her across the back of her head with the cigaret stand and then proceeded to take her to the cliff side where you put her in the noose you prepared nearly a week ago and had not yet removed. A set up that was set to trigger when the trash truck came by. Part of you wanted her to be seen as you were, so it'd be harder to pin on you. Though I'm sure another part wanted everyone to see what you'd done… I'm just not sure why." Conan concluded with Yamamura's voice.

"Because I always knew I was no good!" Hitomi all but screamed. "Sora was helping me forget that- she makes me feel like I'm not just a huge fuckup- but then I lost my temper- because Naomi said those things about Sora… I just lost it. I didn't mean it- I was just so angry- I blacked out. When I came to she was dead!" She took a shuttering breath. "When I had planned to kill myself I'd set up that hanging noose… I wanted everyone to see me… to know what this life had done to me! Then… Sora saved me- I had forgotten about it- till I'd killed Naomi… Then it was the only way to show everyone exactly why I don't deserve… I hurt Sora when I did this! I didn't like Naomi but if either of us deserved to die it was me!" Sora looked beyond upset and had opened her mouth as if to protest only to bite her lip in uncertainty.

"Then…" Shiori said slowly his voice shaky. "When I went back to flirt more with Kabayashi…"

"She was already dead." Moto's voice was cold. "She was in the trashcan just 3 feet from you. You're such scum you didn't even realize you weren't flirting with your crush."

Moto couldn't look at Mizushima as she was handcuffed and pulled away. Sora Mizushima looked as if her whole world had shattered.

Shiori was led out right after her.

Yamamura groaned rubbing his head as Conan rushed over to Hattori.

"Good job inspector!" One of his officer's was praising him. "You got such a clean confession!"

The dazed man blinked before he smiled. "Of course!"

"Hattori!" Conan ran up to the teen. "Are you okay?"

Hattori was tentatively feeling the back of his head as he glared at the innocent looking cigarette stand laying in the middle of the floor. "Damn, they need to get rid of that thing- it's lived too well as an improv weapon."

"We'll be getting rid of it." Mr. Mizushima said placing a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Along with any of it's like. Maybe put in some cemented stand's that can't be moved."

Conan let out a chuckle. Ran scooped Conan up and hugged him close. "You're too small to be trying to play hero Conan! I'm so glad you're okay."

"Let's get you cleaned up." Kazuha said to Hattori.

"We need to eat something soon or we'll be heading back to Tokyo on empty stomachs…" Ran said.

Mr. Mizushima bowed to the group. "Allow me. Dinner is on me for anyone here who is willing to stomach it. Our cook is out today, but I can pull something together."

"Thank you…" Mrs. Ishikawa said hesitantly. "But, I think Yuki and I have had enough adventure for one day so we're going to head home."

"We'll take you up on that." The elderly Mr. Makoto said with a grin his wife nodding eagerly beside him.

"Very well." With that, the owner led those willing to a room with a large table. It wasn't long before Hattori was patched up- Kazuha keeping an eye on him to make sure he stayed awake as everyone enjoyed a simple meal. Thought's quiet as the world moved on.

* * *

 _Authours Note:_

 _Sorry, this one is late... I kinda was struggling with a few pieces... It's probably really obvious... still... next chapter we, well, move on._

 _(Word's used 1939. Date posted 3-5-2018)_


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Fourteen

Heiji groaned holding an icepack to the back of his head as the train shuttled through the night. "I'm so glad all of that is finally over."

Conan let out a slow breath. "Honestly… me too."

Heiji eyed the other skeptically. "So…" He said glancing around to make sure the girls weren't heading back from their run to the bathroom. "What exactly happened back there? What possessed ya to jump between me and the guy trying to recreate the murder we were tryin' ta solve?"

Conan crossed his arms glaring out the window. "I don't know. I just saw him move and the next thing I know you're tackling me from behind and I'm having a mini heart attack as the only thought running through my head is that I couldn't let you get hurt."

"Hu…" Heiji looked confused and concerned. "Ya usually only act that reckless around Ran."

Conan's face went red. "I do not!"

"Yer not developin' some kinda crush on me are ya?" Heiji taunted with a chuckle. "'Cause as falterin' as that is I'm not interested- child body aside- yer not what I'm lookin' for in a romantic partner."

Conan was glaring daggers at him by the time he'd gotten that all out. "No. I'm not interested. It's just…" Conan ran a hand through his hair. "Something… like… camaraderie… brotherhood? I don't know… I don't want you hurt. I don't want Kazuha hurt… I can't even-" He swallowed. "I don't think it would have gone as smoothly as it had if Shiori had gone for Ran."

"You call that smooth?" Heiji laughed cringing as the action jostled his head. "Though I gotta give ya props for callin' the killer out rather than attacking Shiori strait out."

"I was being crushed by an idiot." Conan countered with a frown.

Heiji smiled. "Well, you still focused most of yer verbal attacks on the actual issue rather than just cussing out the guy that hit me."

"I was just trying to get the whole stupid thing over with." Conan said crossing his arms and looking away.

"Maybe so… but I appreciate it all the same. It's nice ta know ya actually care." Conan felt a bit embarrassed and maybe even touched until he looked to see that Hattori's smile was teasing.

"See if I ever try to help you out again!"

Hattori faltered frowning slightly. "I'd rather you didn't… that was a little too close a call. If it weren't for my hard head I don't know if this trip wouldn't of had a trip to the hospital or worse if that guy had hit ya."

"He's right." Ran said stepping up behind Conan making the boy jump. "I know you like to do everything yourself but you're still just a kid!"

Conan sent Hattori a glare that seemed to scream. 'Why didn't you tell me they were back?'

Hattori made a face. "Didn't you realize?" He asked aloud.

"Realize what?" Ran asked.

"I figured Conan heard ya comin' ya ain't exactly quiet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kazuha growled teasingly punching his shoulder lightly. "Are ya suggestin' we aren't graceful as hell?"

"Maybe Ran, but definitely not Kazuha- right Conan?"

"Heh…" Conan managed. He did not want to get the two hot-blooded Osaka's started not when he was so tired. He'd barely recovered from the energy drain of transforming let alone the emotional roller coaster that was the conclusion of the case. He felt a flutter in his chest and a flash of panic rushed through his vanes. _'It's probably just anxiety._ ' Conan reasoned to himself. _'What are the chances that I'd transform again so soon._ '

"Well, we're about 15 minutes from home now." Ran said sitting next to Conan. "You eager to get back?" There was worry in her expression.

Conan nodded trying to put in as much of his child acting skill's as possible. "I can't wait to see my friends!"

A relieved smile fell across Ran's face just as he hoped and Conan began to kick his legs so he wouldn't have to think about the fact that the Detective Boy's were probably really eager to see him- and how the hell he was going to deal with that train wreck waiting to happen. The more he wanted to cringe the more he forced himself to smile. No one noticed it was so strained. Ran was just happy to see Conan in higher spirits and Hattori was focused on Kazuha at the moment. Looking out the window Conan tried to focus on anything else.

It wasn't long before they were piling out of the train. Hattori stretched his arms up above his head and brought one of his hands down to touch the back of his head gingerly as the other fell thoughtlessly by his side. "Well… that was fun. I don't know about ya all but I'm about ready to collapse."

"Right." Kazuha started messing with her phone. "I'm gonna wake ya up every two hours though."

"What- Kazuha… I'm fine."

"I'd rather be safe than sorry. Ya can sleep on the train home tomorrow."

Hattori grumbled but didn't have a good counter. "Come on. Dad's expecting us." Ran said.

"Hold up." Hattori said. "I need ta run ta the little boy's room. Mind waitin' a bit?"

"Oh, okay." Ran said. "We'll wait here."

"Cool." Hattori waved as he walked away. "I'll be right back."

"You better be!" Kazuha said shaking a fist.

Conan had frozen as Hattori began to walk away his voice caught in his through as his hand went up to his chest.

"No…" He looked up to Ran worried. _'Not again. Not now. Conan can't run off again. Ran will freak!'_

A spasm and a shock of pain racked his body making him gasp and Ran looked down in concern. "Conan? Are you okay?"

Conan took a step back shaking his head. He had to leave. Now. Spinning he took off down the hall. "CONAN!" He could hear Ran's frantic voice behind him but he couldn't transform in front of her. It would be disastrous.

"Please! Please!" Conan barely knew what he was begging for as he ran his vision blurring with pain. He spotted a door and a sign on it. His vision was too clouded to read it but he rushed through it slamming it closed and turning the lock as his breath came out in ragged gasps. This wasn't good. It couldn't be good to shift between forms so much- he was still sore from changing earlier in the day! He gritted his teeth unable to stop the yelp of pain. Without much thought, he discarded his clothes. He barely got his pant's off when the small space he'd found himself in was filled with his screaming as his body grew in a matter of seconds. He stumbled knocking over a mop making it fall, causing his muscles to jerk painfully in shocked surprise. His eyes were still blurry with pain but he could make out a jumpsuit of some kind hanging on the wall. Desperately he gripped the fabric in his hands struggling more than he thought was possible to pull it down from its hook. He wobbled a bit as he squinted to read the large white words printed on the back. "JANITOR"

Lethargically he pulled the janitor's jumpsuit on and leaned against the door as he tried to catch his breath. The fabric was itchy and smelled of chemicals and bile. Shinichi didn't care. His vision was wavering in and out and he knew he was just moments from passing out- but Ran would be frantic and he could at least try to reassure her and help "look for Conan."

He grunted balling his kid clothes up and slipping them into a small trash bag. His heart was still racing and he felt like his blood was boiling but he had to move- if for no other reason than to avoid the actual janitor.

He opened the door and stumbled out into the too bright hall.

* * *

Authours Notes:  
I think this is an okay place to stop... I don't want to spoil anything but man it's hard not to blab about what I'm thinking or why I'm doing things this way because that'll give away the story... Conan's life is just getting a bit more complicated is all...

(Word's Used 1343. Chapter posted 3-11-2018.)


	16. Chapter Fifteen

_Authors Notes:  
Here we go... a little bit earlier this week. :)  
Happy Leppercon Day everybody!_

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Fifteen

Ran didn't understand what was going on with Conan. It was beyond worrying. It was like Tokyo was becoming a place of traumatic stress for him. She tried not to think about what she'd do if that was the case and focused on her frantic search for her missing ward. She asked anyone who she passed if they'd seen the bespectacled little boy. Though she'd only passed two people…

She couldn't believe how fast the little aspiring detective could move when he wanted to. "I'm going to have to figure out how to work one of those GPS app's that track phones." Ran was mumbling to herself. She'd tried to call Conan but like the first time he'd run off, it just rang through to voicemail. Of course that time she also found the phone in his duffle bag so a GPS wouldn't have helped than… but it would now- she was sure he had it with him. Though she wasn't sure about how she felt about encroaching on his privacy like that… sure Conan was only about eight but he was very independent. She thought that was endearing so she did her best not to limit him as long as he didn't do anything illegal or get into life-threatening situations… sometimes it seemed impossible to stop him when he set his mind to something, though.

However, her fears lately were less on whether or not he'd get caught trespassing or run into a killer. More and more she found herself worrying about his mental state. Death was not something normal adults were used to, let alone a child. It was possible that all the death that seemed to follow him and her dad had finally started to get to him. Though she hesitated to think so, not just because it would mean Conan would probably have to leave, it just didn't seem to fit what she knew of the boy.

Shaking her head she tried to settle her racing thoughts and focus on her surroundings. Conan was still small enough to hide in crawlspaces and under things most might not think to look for. As she rounded a corner she came across a janitor's closet with the door hanging wide open. "Conan?" She peaked in; hesitant to cross the threshold. "I'm not mad. If you're hiding in there please come out. Please talk to me." A few glances from one corner to the next let her know that the likely hood of the boy hiding in the small space was unlikely. The shelves were full to capacity with cleaning supplies and bags. Mops and brooms were stacked in one corner though some had fallen over. There was enough space for a cleaning cart, but it was gone.

Sighing she turned away continuing on. The small hall that Conan had dashed into was surprisingly empty, and the quiet vacancy sent a shiver down Ran's spine. It put her on edge. It seemed this was more for employees than pedestrians but Ran hadn't seen any signs saying to keep out. Not that they would have stopped her. Conan was known for getting into areas he didn't belong.

Rounding one more corner she could see a form up ahead leaning heavily against the wall. The person was shuffling slowly forward as she watched only for them to sway to a stop. For a second her mind couldn't process what she was seeing properly. Her first thought was that maybe it was a drunk wondering around but then she registered the cowlick and gasped. "Shinichi?!" They were dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit several sizes too big with the word's "JANITOR" spelled out on the back. A small black bag was tied to a belt loop on their side, but what threw her off the most was the fact that they weren't wearing shoo's.

The figure stiffened at the sound of her voice. She felt herself hesitantly approaching eyes widening as she took his current state in. She didn't know why her legs were so reluctant to move, as if she were afraid of what she would see if she moved closer, but she could see that Shinichi was not well.

His skin was sickly pale and his bangs were stuck to his sweaty forehead as he took in shallow breaths. "You look like hell." She couldn't help the words that slipped from her mouth.

A rough chuckle left her childhood friend as he finally looked up at her, his eyes looking strangely large and… the word beastlike came to mind. Ran shook her head wondering why she was thinking and feeling this way.

She knew Shinichi, he was a good person and the way he looked now, he couldn't hurt anyone. Still, the feeling in the air right now reminded her of the feeling of being in the presence of a wild animal. Like the time she was in the presence of a wild bear. That thought had her glancing around nervously as if she would find said animal lurking in the shadows.

"H-hey Ran." Shinichi's voice drew her eyes back to him as he rolled against the wall moving from leaning on a shoulder to leaning his back against the wall. "Nice to see you." His grin was strained, his left hand splayed against the wall and his right fisted in the fabric above his chest.

Ran felt like every time she'd seen him since he first disappeared he'd shown similar symptoms of pain and discomfort- but this was the first time it seemed he was unable to even try to hide it. A horrible thought hit Ran in regards to why Shinichi may have been keeping his distance that didn't have to do with solving a case. "Shinichi?" Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest at the prospect and she was scared to ask but she had to know. "Are you dying? Is- Is there more to you not coming home than just the case?"

Shinichi's face froze, guilt and uncertainty flashing across his features. Worried blue eyes searched her face. "Ran… No…" He bit his lip looking to the side in thought as his body seemed to convulse. He took in a sharp breath. "I- I'm pretty sure I'm not dying…"

His words were shaky. Ran was not reassured.

"So then…" She wanted to ask when he was coming home but he never gave a straight answer for that question. No matter how she asked it or how often. She felt hot tears fill her eyes and slip slowly down her face. She jumped slightly when she felt hot fingers brush her cheek.

"Hey, don't cry." Shinichi's voice was gentle and he was close to her now having moved away from the wall. His breath was ragged and hot as he leaned in close. Ran looked up to see his eyes closed as he moved forward breathing in deeply through his nose and she let out a sound of surprise as he pulled her into a tight embrace. Burying his face in her hair as a soft whine escaped his throat. "Ran…"

"Sh-Shinichi?" He loosened his embrace as if he wanted to allow her the option to pull away but he did not step back as he seemed content to breathe in the sent of her hair. If she was honest Ran could feel her cheeks burn but she wasn't unhappy like this. Still, she was worried. "I… will you let me call a doctor?" She asked softly. "You're burning up- you look like you're about to collapse."

Shinichi's body stiffened and his breathing became rougher quite suddenly. He pulled away slowly and Ran grabbed hold of his arm quickly- terrified he'd run again. His hair hung low covering his eyes. She tilted her head trying to catch sight of them.

"Ran." His voice was pleading. "I…" His free arm shot up as he gripped the area above his heart tightly and his mouth formed a grimace his teeth clearly clinched in pain. Ran stared. She wasn't sure but his teeth seemed sharper than normal. He licked his lips breaking her study of them. "I have to go Ran." His voice was low, barely a whisper. For a few long agonizing moment's Ran held on. Shinichi did nothing to pull away and she felt that if she did not let go he would stay.

Yet, there was a tremble in his shoulders as he looked up at her, a deep sorrow in his eyes. "I have to go Ran." He said again a bit louder this time but his voice shook.

Ran bit her lip looking down at the ground as she fought back tears. "You will come back… right?"

His fingers still hot and shaking pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I would do anything to be with you."

She looked up to see his face was red with embarrassment but his eyes were steady despite the apparent pain swimming in them. She gave a weak smile of her own. "I-

"Kudo?!" Both jumped at the sound of Hattori's voice. "I got a text from Kazuha sayin' that Conan ran off… now yer here with Ran." The two watched as the young man ran a tired hand down his face grumbling something incoherent as he walked toward them.

"Oh my gosh! Conan!" Ran gasped. "I forgot about Conan!"

"He went ahead to the Professor's." Shinichi said quickly.

Ran froze turning to look at her childhood friend. "What? How do you know that?" Ran asked upset and skeptical.

"I saw him rush by." Shinichi gasped. "A-asked him where he was going."

"And he told you?"

Shinichi nodded giving a slight shrug with a half grin. Hattori stepped up putting a hand on Shinichi's shoulder. "Me and Kudo'll go see if we can't pick him up. You and Kazuha head back to the detective agency. We'll meet ya there, yeah?"

Ran hesitated. "I would like to help pick him up." Ran said.

"It's late." Shinichi said. "It's been a long day. You should go home and get some rest." Shinichi was giving her a stern look.

Ran glared back. "Me? You're the one who looks dead on his feet!" It was clear they were only trying to get rid of her and keep Kazuha out of it. She didn't know how she felt about that. Did Conan have something to do with Shinichi's never-ending case?

Shinichi's eye's softened. "Please, Ran."

It was so hard to push things with Shinichi. She trusted him, and wanted to give him his space, she wanted to believe he would come back… on his own.

"O-okay." She said. "Okay." She didn't want to let him go because she wanted him to be with her but Shinichi was always running off and solving mysteries. It would be wrong of her to try to stop him, especially when he was so good at it. She knew what he did helped people. It would also be wrong to stop him because it would mean she wasn't accepting of that part of him, a very big part of him that made Shinichi, Shinichi. If she couldn't accept that he was a detective through and through… then what would that mean for their future?

She shook her head. "You better take care of Conan. I expect him to be home before sunrise. You got that?"

Hattori saluted, sporting a goofy half-grin, as he nudged Shinichi in the side. "Got it Mss. Mouri. We'll get him back to ya. No problem. Right, Kudo?"

Shinichi nodded looking down at his bare toe's. "Ah… just one thing…" Ran said unable to fight her own curiosity. "What happened to your shoe's?"

Shinichi went red. "Uh… well… about that…"

"And why are you wearing that janitor's suit?" Hattori and Shinichi shared a panicked look. As the two started to stutter barely cohesive excuses Ran sighed. "You know what… never mind. Just go." With that, she let go of Shinichi's arm and he blinked owlishly at her.

Her hand felt cold now. "I'll see you later." Even to her, her voice sounded hollow. She made herself smile. She didn't know what was going on with Shinichi or Conan. She knew that the boy's in her life where keeping things from her. She wanted to believe though that if they needed her, really truly needed her, that they would come to her for help.

Shinichi smiled back easing a little bit of the worry in her heart. "Later." He said softly before he and Heiji made their way toward the exit. Ran watched them go till they were out of view and turned around to meet back up with Kazuha. Her heart clenching tightly with conflicting emotions.

* * *

"Are we really going to just walk out of here with ya dressed like that?" Hattori asked.

"Do you really want to go confront Kazuha just to get me some clothes?" Kudo countered as he waved down a taxi, only giving Hattori a momentary glance that somehow looked judging, amused, and bored all at once. The look washed away quickly replaced by a strained control as Kudo continued to try and fail to hide his pain. "We need to get to the Professor's as soon as possible anyway. Something is clearly wrong."

"You okay?"

Kudo shook his head as they slipped into a taxi. Hattori told the driver where they were going and looked at Kudo expectantly. "I feel like my veins are on fire…" Kudo said allowing himself to breathe how he wanted. His breaths were shuttering and borderline gasping.

This left his friend clearly worried. "How long do ya think you'll be, well…" Hattori trailed off.

"I don't know… usually, the pain goes and I'm just sore until I'm fine and then the pain's back… but it hasn't gone away…" Kudo gritted his teeth biting back a sharp gasp of pain. "I keep having spasms as well."

Hattori made a worried sound in the back of his throat. "I hope Little Mis. can help."

Kudo nodded his agreement. Though he didn't actually say anything in response staring blankly at the window fighting to stay conscious now that he wasn't moving as much his exhaustion was becoming overwhelming. Silently, he hoped Haibara wouldn't freak out too badly. He also hoped that whatever was going on that it wasn't actually killing him. It sure felt like it was trying to.

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

 _This chapter gave me more trouble than I expected. I knew what I wanted to happen but I rewrote it 3 times from 3 different angles... I wanted to write it from Shinichi's point of view at first but it was just too much… way too many things going on with him right now. I finally decided to just write it from Ran's point of view… This chapter was necessary for a few reasons... some more obvious than others._

 _For one, I felt this story needed a more than just Heiji and Kudo bonding. Ran, if I can write the story out properly, will have a larger role as the story progresses. But I struggle with actual love stuff… probably because I'm asexual and have never really experienced any kind of pining… I recognize when others are infatuated… I even want to feel that way about someone someday but it just hasn't happened… and experience say's it probably won't…_

 _Anyway... long story short. I don't get sexual attraction... So sorry if this seemed weird... though it'll probably be weird anyway considering Shinichi's current state._

 _I also wanted to use this chapter to show that Conan/Shinichi is acting strange with everyone and not just Heiji… and that was kind of hard to show when my writing was focused on just the boys…_

 _On another note, this story was (other than a desire to write about something I love) an exercise in following an outline and meeting a schedule… I'm doing okay but I feel the story would be better if I didn't feel like I was rushing to meet these goals… but… I can always go back when it's done and clean it up I guess… and the last couple chapters really need cleaning up… I'll let you know if I do any editing- though I doubt I'll change any of the actual_ story. _I'll just hopefully make things flow better…_

 _(words used 2408. Date posted 3-17-2018)_


	17. Chapter Sixteen

_Authors Notes:_

 _Welcome back._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Sixteen

Haibara Ai is not one who traipses around in the world of fantasy. Her world is hard with facts. Science. The world is shaped by it. It is through meticulous study and application of tested theorems that humankind has managed to manipulate life expectancy away from death rather than the much easier push toward the inevitable. She only believes in facts and is certain of only one thing. Cruelty. It is ever lurking in the shadows of human nature. Especially in the guise of helping others.

Story's of magic and heroes are all nice to read about but belong in books. In the world of imagination. The real world had its own monsters. There wasn't room in it for the fantastical beast, that honestly scared her far less, when the Black Organization and the like where out in the real world.

So when Kudo and Hattori showed up at the Professor's doorstep with a sweating and gasping teen Shinichi her first thought was that Kudo had stumbled onto something that messed with the poison. Again.

His luck fluctuated more than his heart most likely currently was. "Come in." She said calmly, this was not something they should be dealing with out in the open. She motioned to the couch and pulling up a chair she pulled out a small kit tucked under the coffee table. Immediately she began to check Kudo's vitals. As she slipped the buds of the stethoscope in her ear she asked calmly. "What happened?"

Instead of a clear deduction of events as she expected both boy's hesitated, sharing uncertain glances. She may have tightened the sphygmomanometer a bit too much out of irritation. Kudo did have the infuriating habit of trying to hide thing's from her, especially when the Organization was involved. Like he thought she'd fall apart at the very mention of them. It wasn't like she didn't know they existed- it wasn't like she didn't know the dangers or the cruelty they held. If anything, she knew them better than he ever would. "What is it?" She all but demanded.

Kudo flinched and she released the pressure holding the head of the stethoscope over his brachial artery. Listening for sounds of pressure and watching the gauge intently. His blood pressure was unnervingly high. Checking his heartbeat directly it was clear it was as erratic as she assumed. "Did you eat something? Drink something?"

"Um…" Kudo's hand curled around the fabric above his chest as she pulled away from her examination to take down some quick notes. "No- nothing like that… I think- we think…" The detective swallowed thickly looking to Hattori as his pupil's dilated slightly. A fear response it seemed- or more likely the pain was getting to him. "Remember how I was hospitalized?" He kept his eyes off of her.

Haibara just gave the two a deadpan look. She'd done extensive check's on Kudo at the time even closely monitoring the Apoptoxin 4869. She did not think anything would mess with it but who knew what would happen if a foreign disease worked its way into his system. She also wanted to make sure that his weakened state would not allow the toxin the leg it could very well take to just do its job and kill him.

All that aside she took offense to the idea that he would think she would forget seeing one of the few people she cared about and trusted, all but torn in half, barely alive, stuck for days in a hospital. True he'd healed faster than she or anyone else had expected- but little miracles did not overshadow the blatant fear of potential loss she had felt.

Taking a deep breath Kudo let out a defeated sigh. "You're not going to believe me." He mumbled.

"Maybe she'll be more receptive than we thought." Hattori said.

Haibara followed the boy's line of sight as he motioned to Kudo's arm's. She jerked at the sight. Thick fur was growing on his arms peeking out of the sleeves of his misfitting jumpsuit. Kudo's breathing became more labored as he took in the sight. Taking a deep breath the detective moved to smooth down the fur. "Hattori thinks… I think…" Here Kudo hesitated. "Evidence suggests that I, um, m- might…" Habara watched fascinated as he spoke watching his ears grow pointed. Kudo was focused on his hands though and panic was growing in his eyes. Turning her attention there she witnessed his hands begin to morph; becoming more claw-like. Kudo gasped and his feet pushed against the ground and then the couch as if he were trying to run from his own body.

Hattori put a steadying hand on his shoulder's. "Relax. Breathe Kudo. Remember freaking out only make's it worse."

"Ah!" Kudo was shaking his head his wide eye's shifting to a nearly white icy blue color. His mouth was open as he gasped trying to calm his breathing, leaving sharp canines in view. Haibara blinked. Her mind rushing through probable scenarios and causes for what she was seeing.

"Look," Hattori said turning his focus to her. "Kudo hasn't really come to terms with it yet but that night when he was bit- it wasn't just some wild dog and it wasn't a bear. It was a wolf."

"A wolf?" Haibara couldn't keep the sheer overload of disbelief out of her voice. "In Japan?"

Hattori groaned. "It ain't crazy if all the facts are pointin' ta one truth."

Haibara could see Kudo's body clearly changing. She knew the two in front of her were not the type to instigate this kind of prank, plus, she couldn't imagine how they would pull off such a trick anyway. Still, there had to be some other explanation. "You can't be seriously suggesting that Kudo is undergoing some form of metamorphous. That he has become a lycanthrope."

A high-pitched whine, a noise Haibara has only ever heard from whipped dogs or frightened pups escaped Kudo. "Yeah…" Hattori said. "He keeps avoidin' the subject. Hasn't even let me say it outright. I thought he was trying ta face it but clearly, he isn't quite there yet."

Haibara pressed her lips together. "I highly doubt Kudo is turning into a wolf under the influence of the fool moon. I'll take some blood samples and see what I can't figure out from that. Maybe something got into his bloodstream or was triggered by the trauma." Her word's seemed to calm Kudo as he settled into the couch.

"Somethin' got inta his bloodstream alright." Hattori mumbled before smacking a hand down on the coffee table. "Ya think it's just some kind of hallucination?"

"No… not all of it- it just might be a new symptom- a mutation of the drug-

"What I saw out there was no mutation!" Hattori all but yelled.

Kudo flinched. "Hattori…"

"I followed yer tracks, Kudo!" Hattori growled.

The miniature scientist and Osaka detective glared at each other for an uncomfortable minute. "The Apotoxin in his body has unknown properties- if something merged with it-

"To fit perfectly in sync with the classic turning scenario." Hattori quipped gaining a glare from the scientist.

"It's possible that something could have affected the drug-

"You played a major part in making Apotoxin 4869." Kudo said quietly and slowly. He locked eyes with his fellow poison survivor as he pulled a hand down his now bare arm letting out a relieved breath. "How likely are these symptoms?"

"Well- we'd have to take into account repressed genetics and-

"The mood swings and sensitive senses I've had fluctuating over the last month… does that factor into your analysis as well?" Kudo asked softly his eyes slipping down to look at the ground. "Or are we just going to chalk it up to coincidence? Because as much as I'd like to blame this all on the Apotoxin… there are too many things going on. Too many coincidences."

Haibara bit her lip. "Fine, I won't say yay or nay on this- but I still want a blood sample. I'll give you my final opinion after the next full moon." Kudo let out a relieved sigh the muscles in his arms twitching uncontrollably. Taking a calming breath she did what she knows best and focused on the Apotoxin. "So… tell me what happened- how long have you been Kudo- how are you feeling?"

"Well…"

Kudo was only Shinichi for another five minutes before shrinking back into Conan- strangely enough, he seemed more relieved than disappointed. "I suggest you stay the night. I would like to monitor your vitals… you should call Mouri and let her know of course."

"She might come running over…" Kudo mumbled.

"Kazuha too." Hattori said.

"What? Who said you could stay over?!" Kudo growled at the other detective.

Haibara felt a twitch of a smile play at her lips as the two began to bicker. "We'll make a sleepover of it then." She decided calmly.

* * *

Authors Notes:  
No real answers yet, but they're coming. Next, we say goodbye for now to our Osaka duo.

See ya next time! Thank you so much for reading and if you can please review! :)

(Words used 1490. Date Posted 3-24-2018)


	18. Chapter Seventeen

_Authors Notes:_

Hello. Sorry about last week. I wasn't planning on missing it. I did write… but it just didn't feel right…. to post what I had… I ended up scrapping it entirely. I felt like it was dragging so what was originally a full chapter has been condensed into a paragraph… (I mean a lot of things just got moved to different parts of the story. Because I feel like I've been condensing in some areas too much and dragging too much in others.

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Seventeen

It was an early morning for the group. Ran and Conan had to head back to school and although Hattori and Toyama had the day off, with permission, their families were expecting them back. So with trepidation, Conan stood by Ran and waved his fellow detective off. "Don't worry Conan. We'll see them again." Ran said as she lifted him up into her arms and carried him out of the station.

It was now the end of the day and Conan was walking back to Professor Agasa's with the Detective Boys and Haibara. "You seemed to do better today…" Haibara commented quietly.

Conan blinked before he frowned at her. "We both know that's not true."

"Actually, you only had your head down a third of the time you had before. You also responded without a flinch when called on."

Conan blinked. "Was I really that bad before the trip?"

Haibara nodded. Conan considered this as they walked and took note of the fact that the noises were still mind-numbing and the smells were assaulting but he wasn't paralyzed by it now. Clearly, he was walking with the group. Haibara wasn't gripping his hand and guiding him as she told the others to give him space. "I'm glad." Ayumi said with a chirp. "Conan seems to be feeling a lot better!"

"It's about time!" Genta crowed. "You've been ill for forever!"

"That statement is outlandish." Mitsuhiko said with a frown. "Still, it has been a long time…"

"Well…" Conan hesitated. "I'm getting better… so nothing to worry about."

The three kids shared glances. "Then would a movie be okay?" Ayumi asked. "We've been wanting to do something together for a while now, but since Conan wasn't well we've held off."

"Yeah!" Genta cheered. "There's the new Kamen Yaiba Movie that came out a few days ago."

"What do you think Edogawa?" Haibara asked studying him seriously.

Conan took a breath to answer only to freeze as a strange yet familiar scent hit his nostrils. Overpowering the sent of the grunge of the city streets. Looking up sharply Conan spotted a foreign man in his 40's standing outside a shop looking through the windows in curiosity. It was just a fraction of a moment before his brow quirked curiously and he turned his gaze to the shocked boy.

The man blinked owlishly before he smiled a twinkle dancing in the eyes that hid under his angry looking eyebrows. "Hello, Kumpel."

"Hello!" Ayumi greeted immediately. "Where are you from mister?"

Conan was immensely uncomfortable with talking with this man. "You have a funny accent!" Genta said.

"What is kupel- er- what you said?"

Chuckling with humor the man brushed his white mustache lightly. "I am from Deutschland- or Germany- Allemagne- ur… Doitsu."

 _'How many languages does this guy speak?'_ Conan wondered.

"Oh!" Mitsuhiko said excitedly.

Haibara noticed Conan's unease as he subconsciously was taking a step back from the man. "I was just giving a formal greeting to your little friend there." The man nodded to Conan looking at the little detective and finally noticing him stepping back slightly. The man frowned in confusion noting Conan's wide eyes and fear.

"There is nothing to fear Kleiner- ah?!" The man gasped in surprise as Conan spun and took off running.

The boy was hardly aware of his actions. Too many new feelings and emotions were running through his mind and body. Being who he was the only logical course of action was to run and allow himself the space he needed to think.

* * *

Back with the others, Haibara studied the man with suspicion as he scratched his head in confusion. Clearly perplexed by Conan's reactions. Ayumi looked after where her friend had disappeared with worry. "Conan?"

"Should we fallow him?" Genta asked.

"I think so." Mitsuhiko said. "That was not normal- even for Conan. Who likes to run off a lot."

The three nodded. "I will help you." The stranger said.

"You don't have to-

Haibara's words were interrupted as the three primary students excitedly accepted his offer. "We're the Detective Boys! I'm Kojima Genta the leader!"

"I'm Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko."

"I'm Yoshida Ayumi, what's your name Mr?"

"My name is Ingolf Corbin. You are detectives?"

The little aspiring detectives excitedly began to tell the man about some of their adventures as they walked. Haibara sighed. As much as the three had been through they were still kids, and at times too trusting. Still, maybe this way she could study this stranger a bit more and figure out what it was about him that spooked Kudo.

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

Sorry _, it's so short, even with the extra time… and sorry if the little bit of German I'm using is being used improperly… I know a little… but only enough to get it wrong most of the time…_ haha _… I did think hard about which words I wanted to use… I'm just not sure if they are in the right grammatical form…_

 _edit: Thank you_ Tobina for the suggestions in regards to what German words to use.

 _(words used 764. Date posted 04-09-2018.)_


	19. Chapter Eighteen

_Authors Notes:  
I just want to thank Neyane for going over this chapter and making sure there weren't a whole bunch of mistakes! (To Neyane: You said it was looking okay so I have decided to post it. Thanks again!) If we're being honest meeting Ingolf was the start of the main story. I didn't think about it much when planning out the story but he is an OC... hu... weird. Anyway. Please enjoy_!

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Eighteen

It didn't take them long to track Conan down. He was curled up in the corner of an alley hidden in the shadow of a fire escape with his hands over his ears. Murmuring to himself. "Oh…no. Not again." Mitsuhiko said sadly. The three had seen him curled up on more than on occasion over the last month overwhelmed by sent and sound.

"Conan?" Ayumi asked gently taking a step forward.

"Stay away!" Conan growled. The children jumped at the guttural noise that left their friend and shared worried glances.

"Maybe we should give him some space." Haibara said pushing the other children out of the alley. "I'll help Mr. Ingolf with Conan." She gave them each a stern glare telling them silently to stay back.

Conan let out a low warning growl as Mr. Ingolf took a careful step toward him. Hiabara spun on her hill quickly pulling a gun from her bag. "Don't approach him." There was a warning in her voice as she leveled the weapon at the man's chest. The children behind her gasped in shock.

The man froze taking in her stiff stance. "Now… that seems a dangerous toy for such a small one."

"Don't play with me. Who are you? What do you want with Conan?"

"I've already told you. I am Ingolf Corbin. I want nothing with him. I was just worried."

Haibara narrowed her eyes. "For a complete stranger?"

The man glanced at Conan catching the boy's eye as if asking a silent question. Only confused wariness came from the miniaturized detective. "He knows we have a little more in common than your everyday passerby." The man said slowly as if choosing his words carefully. "We look out for our own. Don't we boy?"

Confusion grew on Conan's face. "I… don't… what do you mean?"

The man frowned. "I am from the Ingolf family. One of the oldest. I'm sure you have heard of us… boy… what family are you from?"

"F- f- family?" Conan stuttered. "I- I don't know what you're talking about- wait. Like a pack? I guess that would make sense." Conan mumbled to himself seeming to be sorting out some thoughts before he shook his head. "I don't have one. I… am kinda new to all of this." He shrugged weakly, Haibara could see a glint of fangs from where she stood as he grinned sardonically. Then Conan shook his head giving the man a hard look. "Is that a problem?"

The man between them seemed to bristle. "No family? You were not born into family?"

"Of course he has a family!" Genta butted in. The shock of seeing Haibara with a gun was finally wearing off it seemed. From their angle, the kids could not see much but they understood that tensions were high, and Ayumi and Mitsuhiko shushed the bigger boy frantically.

"I wasn't aware one could be." Conan laughed. "I am still struggling with the concept that any of this is even real."

The man glanced at the children standing just outside the mouth of the ally, who were looking fiercely protective as they tried to hide their curious confusion. Then to the armed little girl glaring darkly at him and back to Conan. Conan was tugging at the sleeves of his jacket trying to hide what seemed to be fur. "I see. I may have caused more of a disturbance than I meant to… Entschuldigung!" He cleared his throat stepping back a bit from Conan causing the boy's shoulders to drop and his head to lift in confusion. "I am sorry." He pulled out a card and turned it in his hands a few times seeming to hesitate. He studied Conan for a few more seconds before turning to the armed girl and handing the little slip of paper to her. The girl stared at it as the man spoke again. "I was not aware- I've never-" He gave a forced smile. "If you would like to talk to someone who can help in a more "private setting" please give me a call."

Haibara shook slightly as she took the card, lowering her gun slowly. The man sidestepped around her holding up his hands and moved out of the alley. Giving a small bow to the group he tipped the newsboy style hat he was wearing and nodded before he walked away. The kids rushed in after that. "Whoa!" Genta was looking at the gun. "Is that real?"

Haibara snorted pulling the trigger releasing the bouquet of roses making the boys jump. "Of course not."

"Conan?" Ayumi was shuffling closer to their friend.

"I- I'm okay." Conan said curling in on himself more. "Just give me a moment."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Haibara asked. "How did Hattori help?"

Taking a deep breath Conan let it out slowly. "Breathe. I need to breathe. I'll be okay." He seemed more to be talking to himself at this point. Slowly he uncurled and examined his arms. They looked normal.

"You look fine, just a bit dirty from sitting on the ground." Haibara said. "Come on… let's go to the Professors."

"Let's get lemonade!"Genta cheered.

* * *

It took a while to get the kids to leave. Telling them that Conan needed rest was not enough. Not when they were concerned enough to see him well again. So they stayed and Conan spent a board game with them while Professor Agasa tried to show them his new invention before it blew up in his face. A riddle from the friendly old inventor and a demand to play soccer the following day finally had the true children satisfied and on their way home. "I want a blood sample." Haibara said as the front door closed.

Conan glared at her. "Didn't you get one last night? Didn't you get two?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you need one now?"

"Because last night I got one from you when you were Shinichi and one from you right after you became Conan again. I would like one now."

"Why?" Conan wiped his brow.

"Because if you haven't noticed you've been showing signs of a change for the last fifteen minutes." Conan cringed looking away from her, he had noticed it was uncomfortably hot. Thought the others hadn't seemed to mind. "I want to see what's happening to your blood before the change."

Letting out a long sigh Conan agreed. "Fine, but let me text Ran again and let her know I'm staying a bit later. She's been really protective lately."

"Can you blame her?" Haibara asked cooly.

Conan watched as Agasa cleaned up the tray of cookies left by their little improv play day shaking his head solemnly. "No."

* * *

 _Authors notes:  
Thanks for reading please review if you can! :)_

 _(words used 1120. Date posted 04-14-2018)_


	20. Chapter Nineteen

_Authors Notes:  
_ Thank you Neyane for going over this chapter again! I decided to go ahead and update the chapter...  
Also, I had a guest review from "Joe" who gave a very nice review, I'm glad you're liking the pacing... I worry about that a lot. I mean thanks for saying the story is well written- in any regard- that is nice!

I am sorry my spelling is so awful... I've been working on it for a very long time and it makes me feel like a fool (yep...) for making such weird and silly mistakes... words that sound and look the same get me- even if they only kind of sound or look the same (spell check can only do so much, lets be glad I have that much or this would be completely unreadable...). Sorry for those and I'll ad fool and full to my list of words I mix up so I'll try to keep an eye out for the next time around. Thank you! XD

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Nineteen

Shinichi sat at the breakfast bar in Professor Agasa's kitchen waiting for Haibara to come back with the blood work. Waiting to turn back into Conan. Absently, he was chewing his bottom lip. The small stimulus helping him ignore the light scent of blood and alcohol that came from a blood draw. The sound of traffic was loud but droning in the background and every once in a while he heard the scraping sound of pen against paper from the lab. It was irritating that even now after a month of torture his senses were still fluctuating.

Though after the full moon they seemed to have calmed down a bit. Or maybe he was just getting used to it. Either way, sometimes it felt like he could hear everything in a hundred foot radius all at once, other times it was focused on a specific sound. Like the nest of pigeons that lived in the gutters right above Mouris window. Or the sound of the coffee maker in the little cafe right below the office. A kind of hyper-focused hearing.

If he weren't a high schooler in mined classes would have been impossible. But since he knew the information even being overwhelmed to the point of not hearing a single word of the lesson Kudo was able to complete his assignments just fine. It was the test that had been a struggle because he wasn't able to focus through the sounds of chewing, tapping, and snoring. The strange and unsettling smells that kids gathered and created. His teacher was understanding for the most part and had allowed him to complete the last few tests in a separate room by himself when he'd started rocking and murmuring to himself. Whether out of concern for him, or the other students focus, he was grateful.

The house itself was overall quiet at the moment. Agasa had left a bit after the kids had to talk with someone about one of his inventions. The inventor had been out a lot lately actually now that Shinichi thought about it. Though he couldn't be too sure, the last month was a blur. He frowned as the sent of rocket fuel hit his nose, and he realized that the professor's last attempt to perfect his foldable jetpack left more than a black stain on the back wall of the living room.

He let his head fall to the countertop and let out a long sigh. With nothing else to do, he began to evaluate the events that had happened since he'd been bitten. He cringed. He had never been one to follow his emotions. In fact, he prided himself in his ability to set his emotions aside to focus on the situation at hand. Always following logic. It just made more sense to him. Approaching the world with fact. Not that he didn't ever take things like feelings into consideration. Gut feelings often stemmed from subconscious observations after all- but emotions on the other hand… they could cloud one's judgment. As Mouri Kogorou often, unintentionally, demonstrated more often than not.

Somehow, over the last month, he'd found himself swallowed by emotion- and he hadn't even noticed it had happened. He rubbed his brow in irritation at the realization.

Being proud as he was about his level head this was… shocking to say the least. The only logical conclusion he could come to was that the curse he'd found himself under (and didn't that thought just claw at the logical side of his brain) somehow was heightening his emotional response. Though, the overwhelming and sudden bombardment of sensation probably did not help in that regard. It was obvious what had happened. He'd tried to block the world out and hid himself away out of a desperate act of self-preservation. In doing so he'd lost most of the tools he'd normally use to check himself.

He was human after all. It was impossible to just be logical- though admitting that was hard… Which is why he would never admit it outright, but quietly in the back of his mind, as he sorted everything out, was fine.

He'd gotten wrapped up in his own pain and his own struggles. He'd become, for a lack of a better way of putting it, self-absorbed. He felt sick to his stomach.

Recalling how after the first 3 days of being back in the detective agency that his recluse moping had gotten on Mouri's nerves so badly that the older detective had whacked Conan on the head and told him to snap out of it. Conan had been so overwhelmed with sensation that that smack had been enough to bring tears to his eyes. Kudo could remember fighting them with all he could and the fact that they still fell made him feel so horrid that he ran back to his room and shut himself in for the rest of the day. Mouri hadn't touched him since.

Shinichi knew the man had sent him worried glances for a few days after, but at the time he didn't know what to do about it. He wasn't concerned about how Mouri felt exactly. He did want to show that he was okay but as much as he wanted to he just couldn't. As much as he said it over and over Ran never looked relieved when he said he was fine.

Now as he looked back on it he could see why. He really hadn't been okay. Taking a breath, Shinichi felt like the oxygen was filling more than just his lungs. Like his mind was breathing clearly for the first time in weeks. Like a pressure had finally loosed from around his heart. He wasn't fine yet… but he was finally able to look at things with logic. He felt a chuckle leave him at the thought. It was weird to realize that he'd been being illogical.

"What's so funny?" Haibara's dry voice reached him making him startle slightly. Realizing he'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard her come up. Turning to see the child-sized scientist he shook his head.

A small smile pulling at his lips. "Nothing." He was finally starting to feel like himself again. There was no need to go into some awkward heart to heart conversation with Haibara. Still, the little biochemist snorted in disbelief, but she did not push.

"So what did the all mighty scientist find in her gloomy lab?" He smirked as he leaned on his palm his elbow resting on the bar top.

Haibara sent him a half-hearted glare in response. "Glad to see you're feeling better." Shinichi only shrugged in response. Then he looked at the door as he heard tires pull into the drive. The sound of the old Volkswagen engine cut out and he could hear the professor shuffling bags. Suddenly his attention shifted as Haibara jabbed him in the side. "Are you even listening to me?"

Shaking his head Shinichi gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Haibara… the professor just got back and it kinda distracted me-

The front door opened and Shinichi swallowed glancing at the bag the older man was caring. "Ah! Shinichi! I'm glad you are still here! I decided to pick up some dinner."

"Take out?" Haibara asked disappointed accusation in her voice.

Professor Agasa rubbed the back of his neck laughing awkwardly. "When was the last time I ate?" Haibara glanced at Kudo as he spoke still staring at the bag and practically salivating. She sighed. She didn't know if he'd eaten at Ran's that morning but at school, he'd only picked at his food. Like he'd been doing for a while. "I guess one time won't hurt. While we eat I can tell you what I've found."

The actual conversation had to wait till Kudo got halfway through his meal as he was so focused on eating Haibara knew he wouldn't hear her. As his eating slowed from ravenous to a more controlled intake she began. "I'm not a hundred percent sure what is happening with the APTX 4869, but it seems like it's being repressed somehow. It's not being destroyed or removed but its effects are being blocked."

"So… what does that mean exactly?"

"You are probably going to continue to shift between Conan and Shinichi at random… I don't know what causes the suppression of the drug, and without a reliable way to predict it, this puts you in danger of discovery." Haibara pressed her lips.

"What are you saying?" Shinichi's eating came to a complete stop.

"I think it would be wise to distance yourself from the Mouris- at least until this all settles or you have a better handle on the situation."

Shinichi picked at the last of his food glaring at her. "Distance myself? I'm living with them!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be." Haibara glared. "You do realize that if you are discovered that it's not just your life on the line here. If your condition is revealed it will most likely lead them to me as well."

Shinichi frowned. "I get what you're saying… but what can I do? I can't really stop going to school- I can't just leave-

"What if you change in school? This is happening without an antidote- without you getting a fever and you're horrid at noticing the signs of a change."

Kudo bit his lip. "Well on the bright side you get to be you more…" Agasa said softly.

Haibara sighed giving Kudo a serious look. "That may be true, but the strain of shifting from child to teen is not easy. The strain on your body could end up killing you, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Shinichi swallowed staring down at his empty plate. His stomach turned. "Well," He said quietly. "There's only one thing to do."

"What's that?" Haibara asked.

Kudo looked at her steadily steal in his eyes. "See if we can't lift this curse."

* * *

 _Authors notes:_

 _So I wanted Kudo to just snap out of his funk as he realized what was going on and as he became aware of the rising danger of being discovered, but I felt like it was too... sudden... and I don't really feel comfortable writing from Shinichi's point of view (I think his thinking is just different from mine so it's hard to write) but I felt this time around it was necessary... so he still snaps out of it... we just get to view a bit of the process as it happens... and here I was hoping to stay away from the overly introspective side of things... oh well._

 _I don't know what's going to happen with the update time right now... I've had some positive changes lately- I got full time at one of my jobs and was able to quit the other. So now I can actually set a sleep schedule... even if my sleep will resemble those living on the other side of the globe more than those around me... we'll see what happens, I'm going to do my best to keep updating once a week at least though. :)_

 _I really hope you are all enjoying this story so far. Let me know if you are or aren't. ^-^_

 _(Words used 1667. Date posted 04-27-2018)_


	21. Chapter Twenty

_Authors Notes:  
Welcome back! :)_

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twenty

Despite her incredulity at the notion of breaking the curse (Haibara had seen movies, she knew the likelihood of a cure was slim to none) she was inclined to agree that it would do Kudo good to look into the matter. So without any prompting, she provided him with the card of the man they'd run into that day as he slipped on his coat to head back to the detective agency, having finally turned back into his child form.

"Give him a call in the morning… if nothing else he knows about werewolves it seems." She hesitated. "And please give some thought into taking… a vacation."

Conan sighed. "I guess… I'll talk to my mother. I really don't want my parents to know about this though."

Haibara nodded once. She understood that the Kudo's could be a bit eccentric.

* * *

Three days later Conan stood in the Mouri's living room his face stuck in a false smile as Edogawa Fumiyo rubbed her chin into his hair. Gushing about how she was so happy to have a chance to take Conan on a short vacation to America to see his cousins and his ailing father in the hospital. Fumiyo paused for a second laughing as she leaned in close to Conan's ear. "That was the story right?" She whispered.

Conan sighed. It was close enough and there was no way either Kogoro or Ran would have remembered the details of their previous meeting after all this time. "Yeah!" He chirped loudly instead of answering her and giving a show of excitement for the audience of two watching the interaction.

"You should keep him this time!" Kogoro said loudly.

"Dad!" Ran scolded.

Fumiyo paused in her cuddling of Conan to beam at the man. "You know I just might! His father has been showing improvement and if Conan feels comfortable with it, we could have him moved back to the states-

"But mom!" Conan glared at her as he whined. "What about my friends?!" Really he was asking her if she'd forgotten all about the Black Organization and his mission to return to being Kudo Shinichi.

"How could I take you away from all you've come to know and love! America would be such a culture shock at this stage…" She tutted. "Still I can hardly call myself a decent mother if I let someone else raise you."

"Mom…" Conan's voice was getting dangerous.

Waving off his frustration she smiled. "How about this! While we're in America I'll show you around! I'm sure my bright boy will quickly make new friends."

Conan sighed. His life was hell.

As his mother carried his larger bag of clothes Conan shouldered his bag and let out a long sigh. Ran kneeled next to him and brushed his hair back to look at his eyes. Hers were watery. "You be good for your mom okay?"

Conan blushed, nodding. Suddenly she leaned in and hugged him tightly. "I'm going to miss you."

Swallowing through a tightness in his throat Conan nodded into her shoulder. "I'm going to miss you too Ran." There were so many things he wanted to tell her but as he took in her sent and felt fangs growing in his mouth he pulled away from her looking at the ground. "I'll see you." He said then looked at her and gave a closed-lipped smile. "Don't forget me?"

She laughed. "We'll see each other again in no time." Her smile was sure.

Nodding Conan gave a little wave before his mother, to his slight irritation, took his hand and led him down the stairs.

* * *

A few hours later they were in a hotel and his mother, out of costume, was cooing over his fangs. "They're so adorable!"

Conan pouted. "Sure they are. I hate that I change when I get emotional. Being around Ran these last few days has been hell. I've come to the conclusion that whenever I start showing signs of wolfing out that it's only a matter of time before I shift into Shinichi… I think it has to do with whatever the curse does to the toxin in my body. Normally, I'd probably just wolf out a bit and be normal again- but the wolf coming out pushes the toxin back and I turn into Shinichi."

"Isn't that okay though? Don't you like being Shinichi?"

Conan hesitated. "Of course- I mean Shinichi is who I really am… but… shifting…" He shook his head as he felt a sweat break out on his forehead. "I'm going to have to either repress my emotions or figure out a way to allow the curse to affect me enough to be Shinichi without being Conan again, or I just might die." His lip quirked at the last part, even though he didn't really find it funny.

He was anxious. He'd never turned into Shinichi around his mom. She would probably go into overbearing mother mode once it happened. "I really need to talk to that Ingolf guy."

"Not on your own you won't." Kudo Yukiko said hands on her hips. Conan just rolled his eyes as he flopped back onto the mattress of the bed he was sitting on. Hell, his life was hell.

* * *

 _Authors notes:_  
 _So we're kind of transitioning right now in the story and there is a gap in my planned notes... because I suck at planning, but I'll figure it out! Thank you all for reading!_

(Words used 868. Date posted May 5th 2018)


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

_Authors Notes:  
Hi, sorry for the wait, I've been very busy. Thanks again to _Neyane for looking over the chapter and thank you trublueart for the lovely fanart! It's really well done and inspiring, I just haven't had as much free time as I'd like...

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twenty-One

"The full moon is in about a week." Heiji sighed into his phone. "Ya've been hiding out for about as long… how are ya holding up?"

"Good." The bland response did not leave the young detective feeling reassured. Shinichi was never an especially expressive guy but the responses he'd been getting were blunt and emotionless. It left him feeling uneasy.

"Did ya hear about the heist?"

There was a low growl that filtered through the phone speakers before Shinichi let out a long breath. "I did. I need to talk to him as well…"

"Well, that isn't gonna happen. His heist is taking place on a full moon, ya know that."

"I do."

"On another note… ya told me ya found another wolf? Did ya ever talk to him?"

"Not yet." Heiji could here a trace of hesitance in his voice. "I know he might be able to help with this… but I don't know how much I can let him know about… everything else… and seeing as how transforming turns me into Shinichi…"

"Yer runnin' with yer tail between yer legs."

"NO!" Heiji smirked to himself at the response, it was the most emotion he'd gotten out of his friend in days. He frowned, realizing that it was the most emotion he'd gotten out of his friend in days…

"So I'm coming up that way a few days before the full moon to check on ya, and to get in on the Kid investigation."

"Heiji…" There was a low tone of warning in Kudo's voice.

"Don't worry. I'm not goin' to take yer thief. I just want ta talk ta him. He saved ya, he might have info on the bastard that bit ya."

There was a shuffling sound on the other end. "I can't stop you can I?"

"Nope!" Heiji grinned. "See you soon Kudo!"

* * *

Shinichi, or Conan, sat on the end of the hotel bed, the Tokyo tower visible outside the room's window. He let out a sigh as he dropped his phone to the side, falling back and putting his arm over his eyes. His fingers twitching slightly. The closer to the full moon it got the more agitated he became. He was trying so hard to suppress his emotions, but they grew faster than he could handle them. Not to mention the heightening of his senses had him on edge just in general.

His mother was also no help. She was trying to encourage him to look at all of this in a new light. He was sure she was just recycling some of her inspirational speeches from some of her acting roles. Whatever her thought process though, it just wasn't clicking.

He couldn't be happy anymore- he couldn't be angry or sad, or anything. Emotions were ruining him, threatening his very life. She didn't seem to get that.

A snarl left him and he felt his face scrunch up in irritation. Before he knew it the room was spinning as he was bombarded with every sound in a hundred foot radius. The world was roaring and… he was going to puke.

Shooting up he rushed to the bathroom stumbling slightly. As he leaned against the toilet trying not to think about the smell's invading his nostrils he let out a long sigh. The cool porcelain of the bowl felt nice against the clammy skin of his arms. That seemed to be enough to calm him down as the feeling of nausea subsided. Sitting back and brushing his bangs out of his face he sat against the wall of the bathroom, letting the cool tile of the floor chill him.

His head tilted to the side and icy blue blinked back at him, iris's too big. Fluffy ears poked through thicker hair and as he grimaced at his image fangs flashed. He let out a tired sigh. It seemed teen Shinichi would be making another appearance. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the strange werewolf's card. He flipped it over and over as his mind played out the pros and cons of contacting the man. Surprisingly, Haibara seemed okay with him getting help from the man. Despite the fact that they knew nothing about him, despite the fact that Shinichi's secret would probably be exposed if he interacted with the stranger.

He dug a hand through his hair closing his eyes. Leaning his head back he looked up to the ceiling. Part of him wondered what she was thinking. He didn't really have to wonder though. If he didn't get this sorted out his secret would be out to more than just a strange wolfman. Pushing himself to his feet he made it back to his bed and his phone.

Turning the cellular device on he hesitated only a fraction of a second before he punched in the number. The phone rang twice before the man's mild voice answered. "Hallo, Ingolf speaking."

"Hello, this is…" Shinichi hesitated. "Kudo, I'm- I ran into you about a week ago… you said you could help me… with my, um, wolf… problem…"

* * *

 _Authors notes:  
Hope you're still enjoying the story... hoping to get some action out of the Kid heist happing a few chapters from now. We'll see. ^-^  
Thank you for reading!  
_(Words used 844. Date posted May 25th, 2018)


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

_Authours notes:  
Hello. I am so happy to finally be writing this again. I am so sorry for the unannounced leave of absence... I wasn't expecting it... I sometimes get in this thing where I'm just existing... and when I came out of it I was focused on Inktober and then I was inspired to write but all my attention got dragged into my original stories... and I've been anxious about coming back to this for some reason...  
Thank you to those of you who commented... and who messaged me to make sure I was okay._

 _This is not the most exciting chapter to come back to, but I hope you enjoy it none the less._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twenty-Two

Corbin Ingolf found himself seated at a fancy dinner table. As discreetly as he could, he admired the setting. This was a treat and a very strange setting for a meeting with a young boy. He grimaced realizing how weird and uncouth the whole thing seemed. He was sitting in a private dining area in a Japanese style restaurant warm colors and soft lighting. He'd come to the meeting place, told the waiter that he was there to meet with the Edogawa party as he was told to do and promptly led into this room. It was posh, and he felt grossly underdressed in his dusty old tweed jacket, but seeing as the waiting staff had been the only ones he'd seen so far he didn't feel too self-conscious yet.

The boy who only told him to call him Kudo had yet to show. Nervously, Corbin began to play with his napkin. Placing it in his lap and soothing all the wrinkles out. He sat up straight, anxious about what to expect because ever since running into the little wolf he'd been racked with anxiety.

It was no secret that the history of his people was complex but what the child was claiming-

His thoughts halted as a blond haired woman strolled in a stony look on her face. She looked somewhat familiar but he couldn't place why. "Hallo." He stood, too shocked at her presence to do much else as he held out his hand to shake and then remembered where he was and gave a slight bow as he pulled his hand back. The confused motions had the woman pause, the stern gaze she'd been giving him almost completely overtaken with surprise and a soft amusement.

"Hello." She giggled before holding out her hand. A tension that Corbin hadn't noticed leaving his shoulders as he took her hand and she shook it firmly smiling. "I was worried, so I told Conan to hold back for a moment."

Corbin blinked then recalled that that was what the children had called the boy. Kudo was probably his last name. "Oh, of course. Are you…" He didn't want to make any assumptions, the woman was beautiful and he wasn't sure of her age.

"Kudo Yukiko. His mother!" She beamed.

"Ingolf Corbin." He intoned, remembering at least to introduce himself in the Eastern style of last name first.

"You know, so much has been happening lately- we just can't be too careful-

"That's enough."

Jumping slightly in surprise at the board sounding voice Corbin looked down to see the tired looking boy standing next to her. "OH!" The woman exclaimed. "Shin-chan! I told you to wait for my signal!"

"I could hear the whole thing- you didn't even try to intimidate him, and you're already mixing up names and admitting your relation to me."

"Well, we were going to do all that anyway. I don't see the problem." She pouted.

The small boy apparently holding many names sighed pinching the bridge of his nose skewing his oversized glasses just slightly in the process.

Confused the man just stood there waiting for the two to stop bickering and at least bring him into the conversation. It didn't take long as the boy seemed to wave his mother off in a slightly disrespectful manner. "Fine fine." Then he turned his serious and too old for his age eyes onto the German. "You said you could help?"

"Well," The man said. "I am born with the wolf in my blood. So I believe so."

The woman squealed slightly as she moved to sit, energy just radiating off of her. "A real-life werewolf! How exciting!" He felt a shocked smile pull at his lips. The woman's enthusiasm slightly contagious and a bit of a relief. It was rare for him to talk about such things outside the community. Such an open and positive response as odd as it was was reassuring.

"Mo~om!" The child whined and despite the strangeness in the two's relationship, he could tell that they truly were mother and son and that despite the slightly disconcerting behavior between them there was love.

"Well, that is a fair term." He said gaining their attention as the child settled into the chair across from him. "Now… I've heard the old tell's of the bitten…" Corbin hesitated. "I was under the impression that such things no longer happened."

The small child looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

Shifting uncomfortably and biting his lip Corbin amended. "Well, I heard rummer of it happening in America maybe thirty years ago, but as per our laws the bitten was initiated into the family of the one who bit them- and the one who bit them was young and unstable. Otherwise, he would have been severally punished."

"Wait so you can turn someone if you bite them?"

Corbin sighed. "Normally this is not done. Only if initiates into the family wish to undergo such things. Usually only requested by those who marry into the family. Still, it is rare, and there's no guaranty that it will take- or that the bitten won't suffer negatively. So normally it just isn't done. We are born not made. This is my first time meeting a bitten."

The child put a hand to his chin looking deep in thought. "So you are born… like this?" He asked voice hesitant and his shoulders dropped slightly. "So you probably wouldn't know if there was a cure… for the bitten I mean."

It shouldn't have surprised the man. Of course, a cure would be the child's first thought. "I know this must seem like a curse." The child snorted but he pressed on. "We could show you how to control your instincts- make it less overwhelming."

The child's eyes were shadowed and the mother looked worried as she bit her lip. "Things are a bit more complicated than new instincts." The boy whispered.

Yukiko sighed. "My son has a pre-existing… ailment that… does not mix well with these new developments."

"Oh?" Corbin was curious. It wouldn't be surprising if the child was weak in heart. That didn't make sense though, he could sense that the wolf was strong in the boy. If he'd survived long enough for the wolf to have taken root- through at least one full moon- then the boy must be faring better, not worse. As the wolf spirit took care of its own. Though he'd only heard stories of such things.

"I don't know how much I should tell you." The too-serious eyes of the child before him looked up at him catching his full attention. "I don't know how much I can keep from you though." He looked away irritation clear in his features then a weary weight seemed to fall on him. "I don't know you… but I don't want to put you in danger…"

Corbin felt one of his brows raze in curiosity and doubt. "We are strangers." He acknowledged. "I understand being hesitant in sharing personal information but… there may be text of our history I may be able to look into. I can not promise anything, but I can look into a cure if you would like."

The child's eyes shown as he nodded. The mother smiled softly. "And while we're at it we can become more aquatinted." She said. "What is it you do for a living?"

"I am a travel journalist at the moment."

With that, the conversation dissolved into something a bit more normal between Corbin and Yukiko. Conan or Kudo, on the other hand, was mostly quiet eyes glazed slightly as he stared at nothing, but the twitch of his hand and the quick responses he gave when asked direct questions made it clear that he was listening. Corbin told them of his family and Yukiko told him small things about her son. He was surprised to hear that the child was such a promising detective.

"Hey." The young wolf's voice piped up after a while, cutting off Yukiko before she could go into another story.

"Yes, Shin-chan."

The boy's brow twitched at her honey intoned voice and he ignored her focusing those intensely intelligent eyes on Corbin. There was a tense silence as the boy seemed to be saying something without words while simultaneously gauging the man before him. It sent a slight shiver down the old wolfs spine. Quite suddenly the tenseness left the boy and he slumped slightly with a sigh. "The full moon is in just four day's…"

Corbin nodded. "Yes."

"Is… there any way… do you have any suggestions?"

Feeling tears prickle at his eyes for the boy's predicament the man said. "I know of a family nearby. I'm sure they would be willing to take you in.." Corbin's voice died as he watched the boy vehemently shake his head.

"I can't- I can't get that close, not to a group. Not on the full moon. I… want to do this on my own."

He watched the boy's head sink down, his dark bangs hiding his eyes. "You realize that lone wolves seek out others. They seek a pack. If you do this alone…"

"I can't-!" The boy slammed his tiny fist on the table before he took a calming breath. "My friends and family can help." Conan said looking up and Corbin was surprised to see the burning in the young one's eyes.

Voice shaking slightly, and hesitant, Corbin gave in. "Well… if you are so determined…"

* * *

 _Authours Notes:  
Next chapter Hattori is back and if I don't get stuck on the set up of how Kudo's going to spend his full moon the heist should be starting... I can't promise weekly updates like before... but there should be at least one before the new year..._

(Words used 1585. Date posted November 5th, 2018)


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

_Authors Notes:  
I decided to just jump right into the heist. I wanted it to be fun and chaotic… but…_

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twenty-Three

Heiji stood on the roof of the hotel where Kid's latest heist was taking place. His eyes hidden under the brim of his hat. The wind ripped at his jacket and tugged at his cap but he stood his ground as the door to the roof flew open.

The white-clad thief bursting out of the building like a released dove. Kid showed no hesitance or surprise at the sight of the teen before him. His cape swirled around him as he came to a stop a good meter away from the detective. "Well… if it isn't Detective, Sir."

Heiji's fist balled around the fabric of his jacket. "Don't go actin' surprised ta see me!" The Osaka snarled his green eyes blazing as he glared at the thief before him. There was a distinct flash of bright pink on his dark skin. The result of one of Kid's prank's clearly marking both his left cheek and the side of his jacket. Under his breath, Heiji mumbled. "Damn that Hakuba…"

"Aw… Don't get sour. You came to play. I'm immensely pleased an honored. Don't let Sir Detective get to you."

Returning his heated gaze to the Phantom Thief Heiji spread his feet just slightly as he grounded himself just a bit more. A visual word of his determination not to let the one before him leave as he dropped his arms. "You know why I'm here."

Kid just grinned before his head tilted slightly. "From your lack of action to tackle me… I'm starting to get the feeling it's not to capture me like you detectives seem want to do."

Heiji couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Yer fun ta chase, but I don't really care about what ya do."

Kid put a hand to his heart, ever the dramatic type, "You wound me, Detective, Sir." There was a gleam in the thief's eye as he spoke mirthfully.

The address the thief gave him was irritating, like a mockery of respect. Heiji felt it grating at his nerves. "I'm here ta talk about what happened ta Kudo."

"Kudo?" Kid's head lowered, his hat obscuring even more of his face. Heiji could barely see the quirk of the man's smile now. "Why, whatever do you mean? I don't recall anything happening to the elusive detective.

Heiji growled. "You know what I mean!" He snarled his patience running thin. The sound of shouting reached their ears. "Shit!" Heiji glanced at the roof door still wide open after Kid's arrival.

Kid's smile grew as he grabbed the brim of his hat, the wind picking up and tearing at his cape. Heiji barely grabbed his hat in time to save it from a plummet off the skyscraper. "I believe that's my cue to leave dear Detective, Sir." With that there was a flash of blinding light and Kid was in the sky his hand glider caring him far away.

"HEY! WAIT! I ain't done talkin' to ya yet!" Heiji swore as the roof was covered in Police officers and for a few moments it was chaos again, as it had been earlier in the night. Shinichi had warned him, but Heiji was not prepared.

He'd done as the shrunken detective had suggested, kept clear of the larger groups and looked out for anyone acting suspicious. It wasn't his thing though. He hadn't really noticed anyone out of place. Then he'd come across Hakuba Saguru and his night went from a bit unsettling to unbearable. Hakuba was surprised to see him, and as usual, the two of them didn't get along well. It didn't help that Hakuba seemed inclined to insult Heiji's very being.

As the time of the heist drew near Heiji realized he'd have to lean on plan B. Kudo had told him after considering the venue that Kid would likely use the roof as an escape. On the dot, the lights went out and the thief appeared already holding the gem. Heiji was taken aback by the sudden roar of chaos. He felt himself being jostled by the sudden swarm of officers rushing to capture the thief but even in all the turmoil, Heiji didn't miss it as Kid gave him a wink. That shook him out of his shock and Heiji moved. He'd taken to making his way up the stairs. He dodged trap after trap easily and didn't miss that Hakuba had followed him.

Not wanting the others interference Heiji tried to shake him. Hakuba was stubborn though, and Heiji wasn't sure what his deal was. "Stop followin' me." Heiji growled.

"You know something." Hakuba accused.

Heiji gave him an irritated glance. "What the hell would I know?" Hattori asked, so focused on the other that he stumbled into a trap, luckily it wasn't a one that stalled his movements, but all he could see for a hot minute was hot pink.

When he spun to give Hakuba a peace of his mind he saw that the other was lying unconscious on the floor. The steady rise and fall of his chest reassured the Osaka detective that Hakuba was fine. He hadn't heard the sound of the other hitting the ground so something must have cushioned his fall. With a suspicious glance around Heiji moved on.

The roof was empty so he decided to stand his ground and wait till he knew for sure the gem snatcher was really gone. He didn't have to wait for long. Just the same as he felt he was about to drown in the mass of blue, Inspector Nakamori's voice cut through the madness as he spotted the glider and just as quickly as they had arrived, the police rushed away like a summer storm.

Holding his chest as he gasped for breath gripping the safety rail Heiji looked up to see Hakuba standing at the door to the roof giving him a searching gaze. "What?" He snapped, his emotions frayed. He looked down trying to steady his breathing. This whole night had been stressful. It made him wonder why Kudo liked these heists so much. Especially if Hakuba was a regular contender. Though Heiji reasoned, Kudo and the annoying blond did seem to get along well enough.

Hakuba studied him quietly for a long moment. "Did something happen to Kudo?"

Heiji froze, slowly his gaze moved up to meet the other detectives. His heart had reached a calmer level and he straightened as his breathing evened out. "It's nothin' ta worry about." Heiji said. "I don't know what ya heard… but forget about it."

"Is Kudo in danger?" Hakuba pressed. "His drop from the public eye was quite sudden."

"You don't even know him." Heiji said as he walked passed the other pausing at the door. Neither detective turned to look at the other. "It's not yer problem."

"I may not know him, but I hold respect for him and his accomplishments." Hakuba said turning to look at the back of Heijis head. Heiji hesitated because he could relate to that feeling. It was what drew him out to find the missing detective in the first place. Long before he ever really knew Kudo.

Heiji turned to give Hakuba as serious a look as he could muster. "For yer own good. Don't look inta it." Hakuba's eyes went wide as he studied Heiji before a considering look fell across his face. "I'm serious." Heiji said.

Hakuba frowned. "You do not like me. What do you care if I get involved? Other than to see less of me."

Heiji growled. Hakuba could be such a - "Ya idiot. I don't want ta see ya killed, that's why!" With that Heiji stomped down the stairs. "Forget it! Ya won't listen to me any which way."

"Now, now." The cooing voice of Kid had both detectives freezing. "Detectives shouldn't squabble now, should they?"

Dropping from the small roof that housed the door Kid grinned. "KID!" Hakuba reached for his cuffs. "What are you-?"

"Ah ah ah." Kid said wagging his finger as knock out gas began to flow up around Hakuba's feet. "You really should stay out of this Sir Detective."

"Why… you…" Hakuba managed before falling forward into Kid's arms.

The thief sat the boy down gently before grinning at the stunned looking Heiji. "I believe we had important matters to discuss." With a swish of his cape, the white outfit was replaced by a simple school uniform and a teenage girl stood before Heiji looking smug. The soft voice that left her sounding nothing like the deep tenor the Phantom Thief sported before. "Shall we take this somewhere a little more privet?"

* * *

 _Authours Notes:  
It wasn't as entertaining as I had hoped, and Hakuba was a bit nosier than I'd planned... but what can you expect from detectives? I think mainly Hattori was just not in the mood for games... also I have no idea how to write a heist apparently... (Maybe the next one will be better)_

 _So Kid has a funny way of addressing each of his detectives differently… and that was hard to… capture… I could have gone with the Han and San as the show and manga do… but it felt out of place when I am removing all other forms of Japanese suffixes… so (again I apologize…) I decided to have him address Hakuba Saguru as Sir Detective (kind of like addressing a knight(because of his English heritage)) and Hattori Heiji as Detective, Sir (More like the term of endearment/respect I've heard in some parts of the US(like general, sir. Or John, sir. Or father, sir.). This makes sense to me and kind of works as a bit of a mirror for the two detectives similarities and differences.  
Also, Hakuba made it in time to hear the conversation from the point when Kid said "You wound me" and Kid never left the roof to begin with... (just in case you're wondering)_

 _Thank you again for reading. ^-^_


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

_Authours Notes:  
Things are finally following my planned notes again... sort of... *glares at Kaitou Kid* some people weren't invited. Seriously. Kid was supposed to leave Heiji on the roof... but for some reason, he stuck around? I don't really get Kid or __Kuroba really... I have watched his show... and I don't really know what motivates him, how he really feels, or even if he likes-likes Aoko or if he just sees her as a friend... then again that's one of the reason's I like his character... because I don't think I'm supposed to know all that...  
His presence makes connecting the next part of the story to the rest easier... but makes the rest of it harder... because he's a wild card that wasn't supposed to be in the deck... at least not until much later._

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twenty-Four

 **Half an hour before the heist…**

Ran laughed as she walked with Sonoko. Her friend had dragged her out of the office to get her mind off of missing Conan. Ran told herself she wasn't too worried about the boy, he was with his parents after all. Still… she shook her head.

Sighing she smiled as Sonoko jumped up and down in excitement as she examined a red dress. "Oh…" The blond smiled. "This would look so cute on you Ran!"

"You think?" Ran laughed. Looking up the karate champion took note of the darkening sky. It was getting late and they both knew it. Soon the stores would close and they'd have no choice but to go back. Back to the office, where Conan wasn't. It would be lonely. Her dad probably was out drinking too… She sighed.

"Stop that." Sonoko said giving Ran a stern look then shook her head. "You just attract troublemakers." The girl said. "Just forget about boy's young and old for a few minutes." She gasped. "OH! Look Ran!" Squealing Sonoko hopped up to a little shop that was selling Kid regalia. She picked up a little plush keychain. "Isn't it cute!"

Ran smiled softly. "Isn't his heist happening tonight? I'm surprised you haven't dragged me to it."

Sonoko blinked cuddling the plushy closely to her. "What?"

Ran rolled her eyes. "I don't mind going you know."

Sonoko brightened for a moment before she frowned. "You're not just saying that? I thought for sure that you wouldn't want to go… because, Conan…" She bit her lip.

Ran smiled softly. "It's okay Sonoko. It's not like he's dead. I'm sure we'll meet again."

Sonoko laughed. "Okay! You've convinced me!" She cheered. "Let's go!"

It took a bit longer to get to the heist than expected and the two girls just managed to make it to the hotel in time to see a horde of officers racing out of the building.

Letting out a noise of defeat Sonoko slumped. "I guess we missed it."

"Sorry, Sonoko…" Ran patted her friends back getting a half-smile from her longtime friend. "I should have said something earlier."

"No." Sonoko shook her head then angrily shook her fist at the sky. "It's the underground railway! What's with the random delays, hu!?"

"An' here I thought we'd struck out."

Both girls stiffened at the strange and gruff voice as it was accompanied by a cold blade meeting the skin of Ran's neck. "I'd do as told, Ms. Suzuki." Another man said taking hold of Sonoko covering her mouth with a large hand as the cold of something round and metal met the back of her head. The first man growled pulling one of Ran's arm's back in a twist that had her crying out. "That is If you don't want to see that little miss killed."

Wide-eyed the girls complied.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Heiji followed Kaitou Kid to a convenience store where the thief incognito preceded to buy a chocolate ice cream bar gleefully taking a second from the cashier who was clearly flirting with her. Kid didn't seem to mind and Heiji was starting to wonder if Kid really could be a girl in their civilian life. They really pulled off the high school girl out on the town look as she was happily consuming the treat. As they stepped back on to the street though Kid turned a tempered glare on him that had Heiji stepping back in shock. It was a look he'd seen many times on Kazuha's face when he was being dense and missing something obvious. Usually having to do with emotions or social cues. "You really are something you know that?" Kid said bluntly leaning against a wall as they came to a stop.

"Eh- Excuse me!?"

"You come to my heist and act like a wet blanket all night! I expected more from you Detective, Sir!" Kid's voice slowly went from a serious scolding tone to a petulant whine.

Heiji blinked. "Er… sorry?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just really needed ta talk ta ya-

"And we both knew that!" Kid said pointing a half eaten bar at the detective, a disappointed frown on her face.

"I didn't know that!" Hattori blurted.

Kid's head fell to the side with an exasperated sigh as she went on with her dramatics. "It's so sad! So sad I tell you! If it weren't for Hakuba being so meddlesome I would have just left you there as it was! But that stick in the mud doesn't need to get wrapped up in whatever trouble's our little friend is in. Or Kudo's for that matter." Kid gave Hattori a knowing glance. "You really need to stop mixing those two up."

"Well I couldn't very well take it back after I said it now could I? Especially sense Hakuba was there-

"But you didn't know that~!" Kid sang.

"No… but who knows who might be listening…" Hattori glanced around nervously.

Kid sighed. "Now he's cautious…" Shaking her head before she bit into the hard chocolate of her second ice cream; tossing the stick of the finished one into a nearby trash can.

Heiji crossed his arms giving the person beside him a deep frown. Kid pause in licking the cream seeping out of a crack in the bar from her knuckles to give the detective an inquisitive look. "Ya didn't have ta leave him like that ya know. I don't like the guy much myself… but hog-tying him seem's a bit extreme."

"If I didn't do that he'd already be here." Kid said simply going back again to their ice cream.

Hattori grunted. "Ya coulda done it before yer costume change. It was weird ta see a high school girl doin' that while laughin' maniacally."

"Aw…" Kid said looking all too touched. Heiji grumbled. Wondering why when Kudo was involved did he end up having to work with all the weirdest most frustrating people. "So…" Kid suddenly said sounding serious. "It's true then… Mr. Detective's gone a bit feral on us?"

"He's definitely in a hairy situation." Hattori said almost automatically.

Kid snorted. "I'm guessing you- hold on." Kid frowned pulling a phone from seemingly nowhere. Heiji was a bit confused but waited. His curiosity only grew as Kid's face went blank. "My Kid News alert kept going off… I thought it was weird… even for a heist night…"

Heiji bit back a comment about narcissism and asked. "You need to head out?" If Kid was this amicable he could see the thief setting up a better time to talk.

Kid shook their head their voice suddenly the deep tone Heiji was used to from the thief and it was damn disorienting. "No. Looks like our night just got longer." Kid turned the phone so Heiji could read. The Osaka detective swore.

The headlines varied but the one that stood out was the one proclaiming the kidnapping of a large company head's daughter. It seemed eyewitnesses spotted two girls being kidnapped during the chaos of the police chasing Kid. One of them recognized Suzuki Sonoko. The kidnappers had the girls in a car and gone in a matter of moments. Heiji couldn't believe the bad luck. "If anythin' happens ta Ran Kudo'll kill me." Heiji said.

"An action like this taking place during one of my heist even on the tail end is unacceptable." Kid said seriously, and Heiji felt he was starting to realize what Kudo meant when he said no one got hurt on a Kid heist. Even though they were in disguise, and even though their face hadn't changed much, there was just something in the set of their jaw that gave Heiji the impression that Kid was pissed.

* * *

 _Authours Notes:  
So... while writing this I realized something... the way I write Hattori I wasn't 100% sure where I was basing him from since I wasn't having as much trouble as with the other characters in getting his voice... I figured it was probably something. Though the fact that I like his character could have been all of it... I just came to the conclusion that I think I may have based it off of NinthFeather's version of Heiji in Steeplechase. Which is one of my all-time favorite Magic Kaito/Detective Conan story's and it's actually a sequel and you should read Riddle in Reverse first- but it's all a damn good story and totally worth a read if you like the DC/MK universes_. (They edit out swearing, unlike me and the uncultured swine that I am) Their version's of all the characters are better than I could write in a million years…  
I need to be more creative in my character writing...

 _Sorry for the randomness, thank you for reading._

 _(words used 1294._ Date posted Dec 4 2018)


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

_Authors Notes:  
Sorry for the wait. I wanted to do this chapter justice... It won't be long for the next couple chapters. I kind of had them written before this one. (I need to edit them and smooth out the transitions, but...)  
Eather way, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twenty-Five

The first thing Ran noticed as she came to was the cold coarse feel of concrete on her legs, leaving a stinging feeling on her skin. The sound of muffled voices and dripping water. The next thing she became aware of was the soreness in her arms as they were being held behind her. The feel of plastic around her wrist. She suddenly remembered the kidnapping and how chloroform was shoved into her face after she and Sonoko were forced into a car.

Gasping with a start Ran looked frantically around the room. It doesn't take her long to spot Sonoko. Relief flooded through her as she felt a tight coil of tension seep from her seeing her friends chest rising and falling.

The sound of voices rose slightly and she felt the tension return instantly to her shoulders.

Action is the next instinct to hit her. If that loser hadn't of had a gun at Sonoko's head she would have shown them why it was a bad idea to threaten a champion black belt- but they did. Now their situation was much more tricky- but at least they were still alive.

Shifting she tested the tightness of the bindings around her arms and moved to pull her legs through. Intending to bring her arms in front of her. It was a trick that didn't always work but she figured she could pull off here. Her wrist had just cleared her bottom when there was a sharp "Snap!" sound and her arms jerked free.

She flexed her hands looking at them in shock, then scoffed. These guys were idiots. She didn't want to find out if that gun was real or how likely they were to use it, so as quickly as she could she snapped the zip tie around her ankles and moved to check on her friend.

Sonoko jolted up with a start at Ran's touch. "Ran!"

"Shh." Ran put a finger to her lips as her slight hiss caught the fashionistas attention. Sonoko slumped slightly.

A sharp sound of something being slammed down in the other room made them look anxiously to the door. It was closed off from where they were by a rickety-looking door and Ran could see two silhouettes moving across the square dirt covered window set in what seemed to be the only exit. Angry voices could be heard but neither of them could make out the words.

"What do we do?" Sonoko asked.

Ran quickly freed her friend and looked around for options. There were a few boxes to hide behind and even a rusty pipe lying in the corner. Looking at her friend Ran could see that she had made similar observations. Sonoko gingerly grabbed the pipe and the two girls moved to either side of the door.

Ran stood to the side that would allow her instant reaction to its opening. It didn't take long. Almost as if they'd planned it that way, the moment the two nodded at each other indicating silently that they were ready to move the door began to open. "I'm going to check on our guest- they should be waking up about now-

Ran didn't hesitate. In one fluid motion, she gripped the man's outstretched arm yanking him into the room and chopped the back of his neck with her other arm. The man stumbled and fell like a discarded sack of potatoes.

The other man shouted but Ran was still facing the door and could see the mans every movement. She rushed forward gripping him by the collar of his shirt. The man's hand just barely being yanked away from the pistole he was reaching for as she did so. Twisting she let out a barbaric shout as she threw the man over her shoulder on top of the other man. Ran clapped her hands together feeling much better after putting the two villains in their place.

Despite holding an arguably effective weapon in her hand's Sonoko opted to just kick the men in the sides. "You! Don't! Kid! Nap! People!" She punctuated each word with a sharp snap of her knee. Her black pumps connecting sharply.

Finally, she let out a huff. "Let's get out of here." She said looking up to Ran.

Ran started to nod, only to jump as the sound of a door further out opened. "Guys. I got the pizza. How's the ransom talk com-

The man froze as he rounded the corner seeing the two girls standing over the other two men, and Ran could hear them starting to move. Sonoko snapped the bar over one of the men's backs forcing air out of him. The one below him grunted and growled gripping Sonoko's ankle. She let out a shriek and Ran rushed forward as the newcomer glanced at the gun sitting next to the cell phone resting on a rickety old table. "Oh, no you don't!" She snarled, pushing his hand up and smashing the pizza box into his face. The man stumbled backward and Ran twisted on her heel giving a roundhouse kick to his gut.

Sonoko had begun to smack the other man with the bar in her hands but he'd managed to get ahold of her wrist and was pushing her backward with a feral growl. His temple was bleeding profusely as he shoved her up against the wall. "You little bitch!" He twisted her hand ruthlessly and she let out a cry as the bar clattered to the ground.

Giving the pizza guy one final punch to the face for good measure Ran spun and rushed the other offender gripping him by the back of the neck. Her finger's digging in. The man stiffened, his grip on Sonoko slackening. The brunet slipped down the wall with a grunt.

Sweeping the man's legs out from under him Ran pressed his face into the concrete floor. "Stay down!" She ordered dropping her full body weight onto his back.

She grinned up at Sonoko who was grinning back only to frown as her friend's face shifted with a surprised gasp. Ran turned in time to see the man she'd thrown earlier lunging toward her with a knife- she was in no position to counter. And was shifting so she could hopefully reduce the damage when a large ball of fur and growling fury tackled the kidnapper from the door.

There was growling as the beast snapped at the man's face with a snarled bark. The man let out a surprised yell and Ran blinked. It was a large… dog?

For a moment she considered letting the beast tare the now sniveling crying man to shreds but her voice rose before she could even truly process that thought. "Stop!"

It was stupid- a dog wouldn't understand- and what if she drew its attention. It might attack her. It was large enough she had doubts that she could pull it off its attack. She had to do something though. Human life was precious. Human life wasn't something to just- she couldn't just sit back and watch this man die. It was the one thing she knew she and Shinichi were on the same page about. If she let this happen- if she didn't try to save this man. She'd never be able to face Shinichi.

To her surprise, something in her voice reached the animal because it froze, a snarl still rumbling in its throat.

Ran swallowed. Something about the canine seemed… she felt like she could trust it. It was a crazy feeling. The animal was snarling showing off large and deadly looking canines. It straddled the man looking murderous with its hackles raised and it was so big she wondered if it truly was a dog. Still, it had tackled the man- the immediate threat- and seemed to recognize her command to stop. Even if it seemed reluctant to let off the criminal. "It's okay. You did a good job." The dog's tail wagged at her voice the growl slowly subsiding.

The man lowered his arms from his face, the action initiating another intense growl. The man snapped his guard back up an whimpered. "Shh…" Ran said moving closer.

"Ran what are you doing?" Sanoko's voice was a frantic stage whisper.

The dog's ears twitched at their voices. "They saved us." Ran said. "It's okay, boy." She didn't know why she defaulted to that. She did it with every dog. Based on how the eyes set or how square a dog's features were- but mainly on the emotions in their eyes, she'd give them genders in her head. It was silly that she worried that she was wrong even now- but the dog wouldn't know the difference either way. Its tail wagged a bit more. She knew that didn't necessarily mean the dog was happy, especially since it was still letting out small growls. So she moved slowly holding her hands out.

Her heart was pounding so hard when she put her hand to the dog's nose. It flinched back, almost as if it were surprised, before it sniffed her hand thoroughly. The next thing she knew she was covered in fur.

"Ran!" Sonoko's voice was panicked, but Ran couldn't help but giggle as the beast buried its head in the crook of her neck and its tail wagged furiously. She pet it as it made happy yipping noises and she gasped as the large fluff ball started licking her face. "Off!" She couldn't help but laugh. The enormous dog had sharp ice blue eyes and dark brown hair peppered with black. Its chest was covered in a soft gray color that seemed to extend to its stomach and it's ears, tail, and paws tapered off into black. It was a beautiful creature and Ran couldn't help but feel safe. "Call the police?" She suggested with a grin as she looked to the disgruntled face of her friend.

* * *

 _Authours Notes:  
_ _I never intended to make Ran look weak... after the last chapter I realized I kind of did that unintentionally, and all though this was more or less what was always going to happen this chapter. I focused more on the fighting than I'd originally planned. I wanted to let Ran shine this chapter... Let me know how I did. Was it okay or not?_

(Words used- 1653, Date posted- Feb 6th 2019)


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six

Authors Notes:

Welcome back. X)

 **The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective**

Chapter Twenty-Six

 **1 hour and 45 minutes before the heist start…**

Shinichi sat in the modified corner of Dr. Agasa's basement, which had been more of a lab in all honestly even before the little scientist took over its space. He was in a loose-fitting robe because he didn't want to shred any more clothing. His mother and the Doctor were upstairs having tea and possibly gossiping. Shinichi didn't know and he didn't really care as long as they stayed upstairs like they had promised. Hattori had left at about six to see if he couldn't get anything out of Kid at the heist. Kid's note said he'd be there at nine… but it was always good to show up at a Kid heist early. Especially with Inspector Nakamori screening everyone. Though, Kudo didn't have much hope of Hattori actually succeeding.

He let out a sigh readjusting his crossed legs. His arms tight around his chest as he sat on a futon. His heart was pounding in his chest with anxiety as he waited. Haibara sat at her desk chair her eyes hard as she watched him through the bars of the cage they'd built. She still wasn't convinced that he would turn and was determined to watch the whole night. It was another source for his anxiety. He really didn't want to be seen. "There's about 30 minutes till sunset." Haibara said suddenly. Shinichi nodded. "The moon should be rising then as well." She added.

Shinichi swallowed. "Right."

The room fell back into a tense silence for a good ten to fifteen minutes. "Would you like me to bring you anything…" Haibara's eyes flicked to the bowl of water and the stack of cooked beef in the corner.

Shaking his head Shinichi just closed his eyes and focused on breathing. His limbs were trembling. He wanted to run. He wanted to get out and go… somewhere. He wasn't sure where.

"Whatever happen's…" Haibara's voice broke the silence before tapering off and Shinichi felt a slight smile pull at his lips. He knew she was trying in her own way to calm him down, to comfort him. She wasn't known for it, but Haibara was really a caring person under all her cold logic.

Shinichi sighed looking at her with worried eyes. "If this doesn't work… if I try to get out… Just… don't let me hurt you."

Haibara stared him down for a long moment before she nodded. "You won't hurt me." She said confidently. Shinichi wasn't so sure of it, still so unsure of himself ever since the last full moon.

The silence stretched on filled only by the slight tapping of Haibara's keyboard. Shinichi couldn't see outside, but he felt the moment the sun had set.

His blood suddenly rushing through his veins like a wildfire. His strangled breath cut the silence as he crumpled forward gripping the fabric above his chest. His body breaking out in a cold sweat. His muscles spasmed as he bit back a scream. It was faster than before. It hit him like a truck, and he had no time to brace himself. His heart felt like it was about to burst into a million pieces.

Haibara watched wide-eyed as Kudo grew his child form gone in moments. His scream had been brief and quick with little warning as to what was happening. She was used to him showing symptoms of shifting beforehand, but this came on suddenly. Curling into himself the now teen shivered.

A sharp whining sound leaving his throat. Hibara opened her mouth intending to ask his condition only to jump when he let out a throat-wrenching scream. Kudo's back muscles flinched his body stretching out and she could see his face now. Eyes glazed and glowing almost white in their intensity as he reached out toward nothing, Kudo's mouth was open in a silent scream. This allowed her to see the sharp teeth taking form.

Fur erupted engulfing his body as his face stretched and his limbs warped. A small cry left him, fading into a whimper as he curled into himself again. The form on the floor shivered for a moment before clicking claws found purchase on the tiled floor and Kudo's ice blue eyes looked around in a mild form of panicked confusion.

Haibara couldn't help but stand as she watched the transformation. As the wolf's eyes fell upon her, any doubt about Hattori's and Kudo's story washed away from her mind. A full blown wolf was staring at her, hackles razed. The only thing to bring doubt to the idea that he was a true wolf were his eyes. Far too intelligent… and as far as Haibara knew, too blue. "Kudo?" She felt her voice tremble and she swallowed trying to steady her nerves.

The wolf that was Kudo Shinichi tilted it's head in confusion, hackles lowering, before he sat back on his haunches and yawned letting out a slight squeak of a noise.

Haibara stared as he began to sniff the air. His gaze falling to the meat they had set out for him.

With a wary nature that reminded the girl of her paranoid friend more than she would like to admit the wolf shuffled forward slowly. Glancing at her then around. Assessing the situation, gaging the level of danger. Once he determined it was safe he dug in with a hunger that should not have surprised her. Considering the amount of energy it must have taken to undergo such a transformation.

She took the time he spent focused on the food to study his body. He was slightly larger than a timber wolf, but only just. His limbs were long and thin and his fir was thick. It seemed to be a brown coat with a touch of black dusting his back and a tan-gray undercoat that covered his chest and striped the inside of his legs. White and tan accented his face and the lighter fur left charming patterns in the darker fur.

Shaking she took a step forward as he licked his lips, his meal finished. He stiffened at her movement and let out a warning growl. She stopped, held up her hands, taking a step back slowly. His tail wagged slightly and he stopped growling as she did so.

Settling back into her chair she began to fill in the report she'd been keeping on the whole situation. Still numb with shock. The sound of clicking claws drew her out of her escape. Kudo was pacing. Back and forth. He'd stop and stand on his hind legs as if to see if there was an opening somewhere in his cage higher up. He helped build the thing. He would know there wasn't. A pitiful whine left him as he continued to move. Anxious Haibara watched him wearily.

She wasn't sure what he was thinking or why he was so antsy. "Shh…" She found herself trying to soothe him. He paused. Glancing her way. His eyes studying her, but not recognizing her. She shivered. Suddenly understanding Kudo's worry from earlier. She still didn't think he'd hurt her without cause. He seemed far too intelligent for that. What he would consider a worthy cause for attack though, she could only guess.

Pawing at the ground he let out another pathetic whine. "What's the matter?" She asked.

As if in response he threw his head back and howled. It was intense in the confined space of the basement. She covered her ears out of instinct and Kudo pawed at the gate. The metal rattling against his sharp claws. He started to gnaw at the bars. Haibara was starting to worry he'd hurt himself if he got any more agitated.

She fingered the watch on her wrist. Wondering if the little dart would be enough to sedate him. Even for just a moment. As Kudo stopped chewing and stepped back, she thought for a moment that he'd finally given up. Only to jump slightly as he rammed the bars.

That was it. With a cold determination, she took aim and fired. Kudo fell limp almost instantly, his tong hanging out as he inhaled deeply.

Letting out a pent up breath Haibara let herself relax just a bit. Returning to her notes. After a long while, she pulled herself from her work and was startled to see blue eyes studying her intently. Kudo hadn't moved much. Just laying where he had passed out, his head between his front paws. Calm.

Letting out a sigh and looking at the clock to see it was now nine at night she stretched. Sunset had been at 7:45 pm and it wouldn't rise until 5:15 am so she had quite a few more hours till Kudo came back to himself. She sighed. Deciding a cup of coffee wouldn't hurt she pushed away from the desk. Kudo's head rose. "You mind yourself." She said before she made her way upstairs. He just quietly watched as she left.

Doctor Agasa and Mrs. Kudo were talking quietly at the table. Both looked to her expectantly as she entered the kitchen. "He's fine." She said pulling a step stool up to the coffee maker. "He was a bit restless at first but he's calmed down now-

There was a loud clang noise and Haibara rushed toward the basement door, nearly tripping as she dropped from the stool. As she turned the nob the door burst open with a bang knocking her back and a brown mass of fur barged into the kitchen. "Damn!" Haibara moved to stand only to hiss in pain as she put pressure on her wrist.

Kudo was snarling as he took in the fact that he was outnumbered, his ears low. "Shin-Chan, sweetie…" Mrs. Kudo stood slowly holding out her hands.

Kudo's tail dropped slightly at her voice and he whined as he looked at his mother confused. Shaking his head he backed up showing his fangs in warning before he jumped through a window and raced off.

Leaving his friend's and family shocked.

* * *

 _Authours Notes:_  
 _Honestly, I took a bit too much time trying to decide if I wanted this or the last chapter to happen first and I'm still not sure... ugh... If you have an opinion on the mater let me know... but it is what it is right now. This chapter isn't much longer than the last. Though it sure did feel like it when I was writing it... Thanks again for reading!_

(Words used-1681, Date posted- Feb 7th 2019)


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